Escaping Menace
by heytheregisela
Summary: People don't just run away from home. They need a reason. And Edd could not figure out that reason. What drove such a courageous and daring jock away was beyond him, but he was determined to discover what is was Kevin had hid from him with hopes to bring him back. [[Kevedd]]
1. Chapter one

A/N: Hello sweeties! I'm here with a new fanfic, of course! I posted a teaser for this on tumblr. I always work on too many fics at a time, but I don't even care. I want to write this one along with Our Journey and the one I'm putting up on tumblr (called Teacher's Pet if you're on tumblr and want to check it out). It's fun being able to have different fics to work on. If I'm stuck on one, I can work on the other.

Anyways, this one is a little... depressing? You've been warned, but I hope you still read, because I think you'll enjoy it. :)

* * *

"We just need to know about the last time you saw him."

"At school."

"Did you see him come home at all?"

"No."

"Did he tell you he was leaving?"

"No."

Eddward sat in the corner of the room. His eyes were on the blonde girl answering the officer's questions, but he didn't hear a sound. There was just complete silence as he locked himself in his own thoughts. He just wanted to know... _why_. His best friends were sitting next to him; Ed on his left and Eddy on his right. They tried talking to him, but again, he heard no one but himself.

Why, just why. Why would Kevin leave him... just like that. He knew there was something that had been bothering the redhead, but he never knew it was bad enough to make him pack up his things and run. And Double D blamed himself. He should have asked. Kevin never wanted to talk about it, but he should have forced him until he revealed his secret. It was too late now.

He was gone. Somewhere alone. Far away from him. Far away from everyone. He didn't leave a note. He wouldn't answer his phone. According to the police, there was no trace as to where he could have gone. _'It's all my fault, it's all my fault!'_ Double D repeated over and over in his head as he trembled, struggling to keep in his tears. _'All my fault! I should have been there for him. I knew something was wrong. I could have helped.'_

"Hey, Sockhead," Eddy said, gently shaking Double D by the shoulders. "Hey, look at me. Double D, snap out of it." Edd could hear Eddy's voice, but he couldn't make up the words.

_'All my fault'_, he kept screaming in his mind.

"Ed, help me," Eddy told the taller one of the three.

"Double D!" Ed shouted in the sockhead's ear. "Listen to Ed! Please!"

Eddy gently shoved Ed back and shook his head. He looked at Double D and sighed. "It's going to be okay," he told him. "They're going to find Kevin. He's going to come back. I promise."

Double D stopped his quiet sobbing and his eyes widened. _'I promise.'_

_"Are you sure you're okay?" Edd asked Kevin as they made their way to school._

_Kevin fiddled a bit with the strings on his purple hoodie. "Yeah, I told you already. I'm fine." But he didn't dare make any eye contact with Edd._

_"Are you positive? You seem so nerv-"_

_"I'm fine!" _

_Double D jumped at Kevin's angry tone and Kevin gasped once he realized it._

_"I'm... I'm sorry," he mumbled._

_Double D sighed. "I'm just worried about you."_

_"Babe, don't. I'm seriously okay. I promise."_

Double D blinked hard and turned his head to face Eddy. "Refrain from making any promises you can't keep."

Eddy furrowed his eyebrows, but remained silent. Double D looked back over at Nazz and the officers. Tears blurred his vision once more. He bit down on his lower lip. _'All my fault.' _

"Thank you, miss," the officer said to Nazz. "We'll inform his parents if we find anything."

Nazz nodded and closed the door. She sighed and looked over her shoulder to see Edd still sitting in the same spot of his house since she arrived. She made her way over, got down on her knees in front of the quietly sobbing sockhead and grabbed his hand.

"Double D," she spoke softly, but Edd didn't give her any eye-contact. "Look, I told them all that I knew and also everything you told me. Okay? They're going to do their best to help. Don't worry. Kevin will be okay. I know he will. He doesn't give up that fast."

Edd finally looked at her. "Do you even realize how long that could take?"

Nazz nodded. "I do know, but they'll try as best as they can-"

"For goodness sake! We could find him faster than they can!" The sockhead got up from the floor and began pacing back and forth. "They have hundreds of other cases to look into that they probably consider more important than searching for Kevin! Why should they care? Kevin is no one important to them!" He threw his hands up. "They'll take all the unnecessary time they can before they start the search and that's what worries me the most! What if by the time they do find him, it's too late?" Edd took in a deep breath and allowed himself to burst into more tears.

Ed, Eddy, and Nazz stood up, staring at Double D with sympathy, unsure of what to say.

"He has a point," Eddy whispered.

"Of course I do," Double D answered, sniffling. "We need to look through his room." He turned around and nodded. "Yes, that's we need to do! He must have left some sort of hint behind as to where he went!"

"Double D," Nazz said, sighing. "You know the cops already did that and they didn't find anything-"

"Are you even sure of that?" Edd sneered at her. "All I see them doing at the moment is asking questions! Questions!" He breathed out a fake laugh. "What good is asking us questions going to do? We clearly do not have a clue, otherwise we wouldn't be in such a distraught!" He choked out the last word as more tears came down his cheeks.

Nazz could feel her own eyes watering at the sight. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Eddy. Eddy sighed through his nose and walked over to his friend.

"Come on, Double D," he said. "Maybe you should get some sleep."

Double D scrunched up his nose and moved away from Eddy. "It's ridiculous that you believe I can sleep at a time like this."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"I want to look for Kevin."

Eddy's eyes widened. "We can't really do that."

Double D's lips quivered. "I understand that."

Nazz nudged Eddy and he sighed.

"We can try gathering clues ourselves, though," he said. "We'll go search Kevin's room like you wanna, okay?"

Edd looked at his friend with hopeful eyes. "You will help me?"

"We all will," Nazz told him.

The corners of Edd's lips twitched up a little. "Thank you."

"But before we go, I have to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"You told me that when you saw him this morning, he was really nervous, but I mean, he didn't tell you anything at all?"

Double D shook his head.

Nazz pouted. "Okay, but he never mentioned anything that was bothering him lately?"

"I would be more at ease if he did. It would at least tell me why he left."

"Same here. I'm trying to think of the last conversation with him and see there's anything I misread, but there isn't. He wasn't smart with keeping it a secret that he was scared, but he was smart with not talking about the actual problem. I would try asking him-"

"But he would get angry and tell you to leave him alone?"

Nazz looked at Edd and nodded. "I'm guessing he did the same with you?"

Edd wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sighed. "Yes."

"Double D," Ed spoke up. "I'm sorry you're sad. I wish I had powers that could find Kevin and bring home to you."

Oh, how could the sockhead not smile at that. Dear Ed always meant well. Double D thanked him and even let him pull him into a tight embrace.

"Eddy, come hug Double D, too!" Ed told the shorter teen.

As the Eds had their moment, Nazz leaned against the wall and tapped her chin as she thought back to every conversation she had with Kevin since his strange behavior began. There had to be something he said that she missed, a sort of clue or sign that could have revealed what was wrong with him. Nothing seemed to click, but there had to be something.

She looked up at the other teens. "Hey, Double D."

Edd broke free from his friend's grip and turned around. "Yes, Nazz?"

"You should think back," she said. "Think back to when Kevin started acting weird. That's what I'm trying to do. There has to be something he said that will help us understand all of this better."

"But if there was something he said," Eddy said, "I think you guys would've caught it then."

"I know, I know!" The blonde ran her fingers through her short hair. "We can still try." Her eyes went back to Edd. "When did you start noticing that something was wrong?"

Edd thought about it. "Four months ago, but in the beginning, it was hardly noticeable. You would have thought he was merely stressing over a math test and that is what I assumed." He looked down at his feet and sighed sadly. "This is why you should never make assumptions." His voice was almost too quiet.

"No, Double D, don't blame yourself!"

"It's all I can do! I was supposed to be there for him and I failed!" The tears began blurring Edd's vision again.

"You didn't fail!"

"If I didn't, then why isn't he here?!"

"Because he wouldn't open up to us. It's not our fault. We tried to ask him."

"And our attempts weren't good enough." Edd shut his eyes and bit his lower lip. Ed wrapped his arms around him again and the sockhead leaned on him, the quiet sobs returning. He didn't want to cry anymore. He was tired of crying, but that's the only thing he had the strength to do.

"Double D," Nazz spoke. "I know you're hurting. I'm hurting just as much as you are, but we have to stay strong."

Edd nodded and opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and began to talk, "It was the tenth of October. We were sitting in the picnic tables outside during lunch and he kept staring off." He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "At the time, I believed he was simply distracted by his own thoughts, but now that I dwell on it more, there was someone sitting at a table not too far away from ours and Kevin was staring in their direction, and he did appear a little disquieted."


	2. Chapter two

A/N: Lol, I like reading what you guys think happened to Kevin. It's entertaining :)

* * *

**October 10, 2012.**

Kevin knew Edd was explaining to him the new lesson he was going over in his AP Biology class and how excited he was about it, but the redhead was hardly listening. He was too invested in his own thoughts as he stared at the teen sitting on a table near theirs. The teen had curly black hair, dark brown eyes, and some freckles on his face. He went by the name Jake and he wasn't patient; that's all Kevin really knew about the guy... so far. Kevin's gaze moved over to four tables back, staring at his best friend, Nazz as she laughed and joked around with her friends. She didn't notice Kevin, so he went back to watching Jake. With all the hand gestures, Jake seemed to be explaining something to his friends and the redhead started to feel a little uneasy.

"Good day, double the Ed boy," Rolf's voice snapped Kevin's concentration away from Jake.

He looked up at the blue-haired teen.

"Ah, and a good day to you, too, Casanova Kevin-boy," Rolf said to him with a smile.

A loud snort made Kevin flinch a little. He looked over the table to see Rolf's pig and chuckled a little, feeling foolish for being so paranoid. "Aye Rolf... uh, Wilfred sure gets bigger and bigger everyday."

"Yes." Rolf leaned down a little and patted the pig on the back. "Rolf takes good care of his friends."

Kevin and Edd smiled. The son of a shepherd went on his way. Kevin looked back over at Jake's table, but he was gone. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Is everything alright?" Edd asked.

Kevin blinked and looked at the sockhead. "Yeah, I'm cool." He licked his lips and forced a smile on his face.

Double D wasn't really convinced, but before he could say anymore, Kevin pointed at the remaining food on his tray.

"You gonna finish that?" Kevin asked.

* * *

**Present.**

Nazz knocked on Rolf's front door and hummed quietly as she waited for him to answer.

He opened the door and smiled brightly to see her. "Ah, Nazz girl. What brings you to see the Son of a Shepherd?"

The blonde sighed. "You didn't hear yet?"

"Hmm?"

"Kevin's gone, Rolf."

"Gone where? Rolf is confused."

Nazz smiled slightly. "I mean, he ran away from home and we don't know why."

Rolf crossed his arms and shook his head. "Ah, that's why the men who drive in the car with the flashing lights were here, yes?"

"Yep," Nazz answered. "I just came to ask if you saw him when he came home."

"Rolf is sad to say he didn't see the Casanova Kevin-boy."

"Oh, okay. Well, do you wanna come help us search his room? Ed, Eddy, and Double D are already over there."

Rolf nodded and stepped out of his house. The two made their way over to Kevin's house. Kevin's parents almost didn't want to let anyone up to their son's room, but seeing that it was Double D, they decided it would be okay. Though they were reluctant at first in allowing Ed and Eddy inside. Now the three were carefully inspecting the redhead's room when Nazz and Rolf entered.

"Find anything yet?" Nazz asked.

The three shook their head and remained silent. Edd stared at Kevin's bed. They hadn't looked underneath it yet. With a long sigh, he got down on his knees and peeked. He was a little surprised by how neat it kind of was under there. He only saw a simple pair of sneakers, a baseball, and baseball gloves. Nothing that lead to a clue, though. He was going to stand back up when an idea hit him. Maybe he hid something in the shoes. Quickly, Double D grabbed the pair and pulled them out. He cringed a little at the thought of how filthy they might be, but at the moment, he didn't want to worry about it. Filth was the last thing he had to worry about, but he still closed his eyes as he reached his hand into the shoe and felt around for something—anything.

Nope, nothing in the right shoe.

He went ahead and did the same with the left and his eyes widened when he felt something and heard a crumble. He grabbed the piece of paper and pulled it out. A note. It was a fucking note. Edd's heart began to pound. This could be something. With shaky hands, he unfolded it and began reading:

_Note to self, get new best friends, since apparently mine don't have any fucking time for me anymore. I feel like I'm the one who still considers them best friends, but they have someone else who they call "best friend" now. I'm probably just being a baby about this, but it sucked when I tried asking Nazz yesterday if she wanted to hang out today and she said she already had plans. I just wanted a distraction. I know Edd distracts me, but I wanted to reconnect with my "best friends"._

Edd frowned as he finished reading and looked over at the blonde.

"Nazz," he said softly.

She spun around and raised her eyebrows when she saw the note in his hands. "You found something?" The others turned to look.

"It's a note about you," he answered her.

"About me?" Nazz held out her hand. "Can I see it?"

Edd nodded and handed it to her.

"Kevin had a little diary or something?" Eddy asked, but Edd just glared at him as he got back up on his feet.

Nazz looked up, a helpless look on her face. "I remember that day."

* * *

**October 19, 2012.**

Kevin kept his head low as he walked through the hallway. It was Friday, thankfully, and he could go home and relax. He looked up suddenly and saw Nazz at her locker, putting away her textbooks.

"Hey, Nazz," he greeted her as he went up to her.

The blonde turned and smiled at him. "Hey, Kev. How ya been?"

"Good," he answered. "I know we haven't really hung out since Edd and I got together, but how does it sound if you, Rolf and I do something tomorrow?"

Nazz thought about it and frowned. "Dude, that would be awesome, but I sort of already have plans..."

Kevin sighed. Damn. He was really looking forward to spending his time with his old two best friends. He knew that's what he needed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. I should've asked earlier." He started to turn away, but Nazz grabbed his arm.

"Oh, but how does Sunday sound?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

The redhead looked at her again. "I'm doing something with Double D on Sunday."

"Oh." Nazz pouted a little, but it wasn't long until her lively smile returned. "But how about you give me a ride home?"

Kevin grinned and nodded. "Let's go."

The blonde held onto his arm as they exited the school building together. Nazz had always been the closest to Kevin. They did indeed have feelings for each other in middle school, but when high school started, those feelings faded and they became even closer. They were almost inseparable freshmen and sophomore year and when Kevin started to show an interest in Edd, Nazz immediately jumped in to help. Even though it was a bit disappointing that she hardly had anytime to hang out with Kevin with their sports keeping them busy and also Kevin with Edd a lot, she was happy for her best friend. He seemed so content in his relationship and that was rare. The redhead was never serious about anyone, but he was pretty serious with Double D.

As they made their way to Kevin's motorcycle, Nazz squealed with joy.

"I love this so much," she said as he handed her the spare helmet.

Kevin laughed.

"Double D wouldn't mind, right?" Nazz asked.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would he?"

"Well, doesn't he want a ride?"

The jock shook his head. "Nah. He has something to do with his club and since Eddy is getting out of detention around the same time Edd's done, the dork will give him a ride."

Nazz nodded. She strapped on the helmet and smiled as she hopped on behind Kevin. Kevin turned on the vehicle and glanced at her over his shoulder.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready," she answered and Kevin drove off.

* * *

**Present.**

"What the hell kind of distraction did he need?" Nazz sighed in defeat and closed her eyes. "If I would've known, I would've cancelled my plans and..."

"He didn't tell Rolf anything," Rolf told her.

She opened her eyes and revealed how watery they were. Edd sat down on Kevin's bed and bit down on his lower lip as he felt the urge to cry, too. Shit. What _did_ Kevin need to be distracted by...


	3. Chapter three

A/N: I've been getting pretty good responses for this one. I know I'm lacking on Our Journey again, but I will have chapter eight of that one out by Wednesday, just making sure it's perfect lol!

Anyways, this is KevEdd, but the other cul-de-sac kids play a strong role in this as well. Lol... but they're not kids. I don't know why I said kids. Eh, whatever.

Another small thing, there may be a sequel to Three's A Crowd.

Okay, enjoy!

* * *

It had been three days.

Three days since Kevin left.

Three days without hearing a single word from him.

Three days without knowing whether he was okay or not.

Those three days felt so empty, so useless, and so silent. By the next day, everyone in Peach Creek was fully aware of Kevin's disappearance. Three days later, his parents were on the news and they pleaded for their son to return home. They said that if he came home, they would promise to be better parents, because they honestly believed Kevin had run away from home due to their parenting. Nazz shook her head as she and Edd stood nearby, watching the two talk as they were surrounded by a camera crew in front of their home. She knew that was not the case. She knew exactly how they would treat Kevin and there was always nothing but love. They would even spoil him every now and so, and even when they would ground him, the punishment wouldn't last long if he behaved well.

Edd also had seen how Kevin's relationship with his parents worked and it proved that there was no way he ran away because his home life was a disaster. No, it couldn't be. He never seemed unnerved about going home. He actually found it to be relieving. But his parents were desperate—they would say anything to bring Kevin home. They didn't know why he left. No one knew yet. That note Double D found in Kevin's shoe was the only note in his bedroom, the only slight clue they could dig out.

"Please, Kevin," Mrs. Barr said as she clutched the microphone in her hands, tears blurring her vision. "Please, sweetie. I miss you." She sniffled and looked at her husband. "We both miss you. Please come home. We need you. Kevin, please."

Edd covered his mouth with his hand as he felt the water works starting up and Nazz wrapped her arms around him.

School had been the worst for the both of them. They had trouble concentrating on anything. Teachers understood, but they told them to try their best, to know that Kevin was going to be okay, and they can at least attempt to keep learning. But school just didn't seem important. Nothing did.

Edd had trouble sleeping and even when he fall asleep, he would have nightmares of something terrible happening to Kevin.

Nazz hardly had an appetite. She was always anxious, tired, and worried. Why wouldn't Kevin just call and let them know he was alive? If he did at least that, they would at least be at some ease. But no. The redhead really wanted his whereabouts to be completely hidden from everyone.

Rolf was also very down about the whole thing. He suddenly regretted not spending more time with Kevin when he had the chance... well, he wanted to believe there would be more chances in the future. He kept telling himself over and over again that his best friend would return, that his best friend was not that stupid, otherwise Kevin wouldn't be his best friend, because Rolf didn't associate with stupid people. He kept telling himself that and it would make him feel better, but only for a few minutes, until he was reminded that Kevin could be absolutely _anywhere_. He could be hurt and scared. That thought was unsettling and it sent the blue-haired teen back to feeling horrible all over again.

Then there was Jonny, who definitely couldn't even bring himself to believe any of it. No. It was a joke, right? Because Kevin had always seem like such a brave jock to him, so the fact that something drove him away was... weird. And he just didn't want to believe it. Yet, he would lay in bed and talked about it with Plank. The piece of wood would never give any response. The night always brought Jonny to his senses that Kevin being gone was, in fact, true. And that sucked. A lot.

He always considered Kevin to be a good friend. Although when high school started, they barely talked anymore. They would exchange smiles, a few 'hey's here and there, and even some 'I'll talk to you later's when a conversation was attempted, but that "later" never came. And that sucked even more. Everything about it sucked.

Eddy even started to feel bummed out about it, too, especially because he saw how hurt Double D was about it. And he had to admit, school and the cul-de-sac without Kevin was just not the same. Ed of course was hurt, too. He hardly spoke to the redhead, but seeing Double D cry over him was enough to make him cry. He also just genuinely missed Kevin and his presence. The Kanker sisters were upset about it, too. They didn't even know Kevin that well, but when someone who you were so used to seeing everyday is suddenly not there, well, it felt depressing.

Sarah and Jimmy were just as sad. Sarah was like Jonny, not wanting to believe it. Jimmy kept feeling like something wasn't complete.

And on a cold, windy Friday morning, the two freshmen hurried their way through the school building until they found Edd at his locker.

"Double D!" Sarah called. "Jimmy has something to tell you about Kevin!"

Edd's eyes widened immediately and he dropped his textbook. He spun around, gaping at them. "What is it!" He spoke so fast that the two almost weren't sure what he said. It almost sounded as if he said "Was it?"

But Jimmy took a deep breath and said, "Well, I hope what I tell you helps."

"Oh, anything will help, Jimmy!" Edd tried not sounding to eager, but damn, he wanted the curly-haired boy to just say it! He licked his lips and sighed, trying to calm himself down.

"Okay." Jimmy nodded. "I remember one day, as I made my way to one of my classes to speak to a teacher, I saw him in a classroom. He was alone... and he was talking on the phone."

"And Jimmy heard his conversation!" Sarah added.

"Aw, Sarah," Jimmy said with a whiny tone. "I wanted to say that."

The redheaded girl rolled her eyes. "Jimmy, who cares who says it as long as it gets said!"

Oh goodness. This was taking too long for Double D. The sockhead glared at them and shook his head. They needed to get to the point. Okay, Kevin was alone in a classroom, talking on the phone. Yes, he got that. Now he _needed_ to know what the heck Kevin said.

"Good Lord, you two!" He blurted, stopping the two from their bickering. "Please, go on with the story!"

Jimmy blinked. "Oh, right!"

* * *

**October 25, 2012.**

Jimmy sighed loudly as he walked through the empty hall. It usually wasn't this empty during lunch, but it had just begun, so everyone was still eating. He started humming quietly to himself, but froze in his tracks when he heard a loud "No!" It sounded muffled. He turned to look at the door on his right and tilted his head, "Hmm?" Slowly, he stepped up to the door and looked through its window to see Kevin standing in there, his cell phone pressed to his ear and a unpleasant expression on his face.

"I can't yet!" The redhead shouted. "No, dude. Just give me another week... I know... Yeah, I understand that... I just need more time... Yeah? Alright, thanks, man." He pressed a button on his phone before putting it back into his pocket.

Kevin squinted his eyes, getting the uneasy feeling that he was being watched. He looked at the door, but Jimmy was fast enough to duck. Kevin raised an eyebrow as he slowly approached the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob and Jimmy took off running. Kevin didn't see who it was, but he knew someone had been spying on him.

He opened the door and yelled out, "You better not say anything! Ya hear me, dork?!"

Jimmy pressed himself against the wall and nodded, even though he knew Kevin couldn't see him.

* * *

**Present.**

"But of course," Jimmy said to Edd, "I had to tell you." He pouted. "I never did end up going to see my teacher that day. I just wanted to get back to Sarah and Jonny after that." Jimmy sighed. "It wasn't important, anyway." And Sarah patted his back.

Edd tried blinking away the tears that were now forming—for what seemed like the hundredth time since Kevin left. Needed more time... for what?

"You didn't hear him say for what?" Edd asked Jimmy.

The curly-haired boy shook his head. Double D pressed his hand against his forehead and began pacing back and forth, completely ignoring the fact that he kept kicking his textbook around.

"That could mean anything," he said. "Absolutely anything! He could have needed time to get something for someone who threatened... oh, dear." Double D began gasping for air as his sobbing started. "No." He shook his head, his nose wrinkled as the tears fell down his cheeks. "No. No. No. The... thought... of someone wanting to hurt K-Kevin... no." He wheezed a little and Sarah felt the need to comfort him.

The redheaded girl sighed sadly as she opened out her arms. "Can I hug you?"

Edd sniffled and shook his head. "Please, just go. Let me be."

"No." Sarah embraced the sobbing teen. He was taller than her, but not by much. Jimmy walked up and started gently patting Edd's back.

At first, Double D didn't want to be comforted, but now that he had Sarah's arms around him, he felt somewhat better. He took in a shaky breath and allowed her to continue hugging him as he just stood there and quietly sobbed.

* * *

When Edd informed Nazz about what Jimmy told him after school, she jumped up from the couch in her living room.

"What?! Who was he talking to?" Nazz pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. Ed and Eddy, who were also there, flinched a little at her loud tone. "Oh my God."

"Jimmy doesn't know," Edd told her.

Eddy groaned. "I swear, this little investigation of ours is getting more and more confusing."

"No!" Nazz glared at him. "At least now we know someone was bothering him."

"But now we have to figure out who and why!"

The blonde sighed. Yeah, Eddy was right. Nothing was really resolved yet. Double D stood up and fiddled with his fingers.

"I'm going to go home," he said softly. "I think I will try to get myself some rest."

Nazz frowned, but nodded. "Okay, Double D. I'll talk to you tomorrow." She offered him a smile.

"Have a nice night, Nazz." He attempted to smile back. Turning around, he looked at his best friends. "You too, Ed and Eddy."

"Don't let the monsters in your closet eat you, Double D," Ed said, his voice sounding so sad and weak.

Edd nodded and with that, he left. The January evening air was very crisp and made Double D shiver, even with a coat on. He could see his breath in the air and it only caused him to shiver more. He walked into his home and went up to his bedroom. His parents weren't home yet. No surprise. They had tried to be there for their son, tried to tell him what everyone else kept saying, that Kevin would come back, but it didn't help. Not one bit.

The sockhead sat down on his bed and looked at his bedside table. To distract himself from his thoughts, he grabbed a mini globe and tossed it back and forth in his hands. It wasn't helping. Nothing helped. He rolled his eyes, but as he put it back without looking, he missed and it fell and rolled under the bed.

"Oh, wonderful," he said sarcastically and with a shrug, he got down on his knees and looked under.

His eyes scanned the darkness and a gasp escaped him when he noticed a folded up paper. Surely he did not put _that_ there. He didn't put anything under his bed. His heart rate increased as he grabbed the paper. He stood back up and just stared at it. How long had it been there, he wondered. Carefully, Edd unfolded it.

_Hey Edd. I wonder how long it's gonna take you to find this. But I hope you find this before you find the other notes._

Other notes? Double D raised an eyebrow, but continued reading.

_I'm probably not there anymore, huh? Yeah. I've been planning my escape for a few days now. Don't know when I'll do it, but if you're reading this and I'm not there, then I guess I ended up getting the balls to actually runaway and I ran away because I have a problem, Edd. I don't wanna tell you because I don't want you worrying about me. It's been going on for a month now. It's not so bad, but I know it's going to get worse. I'm sorry and I'm saying I'm sorry because by the time you figure out what my problem was, you're going to hate me. You're going to think I'm the dumbest person ever and you know what, maybe I am. Just remember that it's my life and I can do whatever I want. But this is coming with consequences and I honestly just wanna be coward and run away from it. Babe, this doesn't mean I'm running away from you. This doesn't mean I don't care about you. I'm just trying to save myself. You deserve way better. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm writing this as you cook me a big surprise dinner, which better be good. What am I saying? Your cooking is always fucking delicious. _

Edd couldn't help but smile at that.

_Anyways, I should stop here. Look for those other notes. I'll number them so you know which one to read first. They'll be like my little updates on how things are going, because I can't tell you this to your face. Hopefully this shit gets resolved and I can get all the notes and throw them away like nothing happened, but I kinda doubt it. I'm in deep already and I'm only going to get worse. Well, you're calling me now so I guess food's ready. Take care, Edd._

_P.S. Don't expect to find all the notes in your room._


	4. Chapter four

A/N: This chapter is short, so I don't know why it took me forever to write it. Ahh, apologies.

* * *

Notes. Kevin left notes behind. Edd jumped up from his bed and began searching around. Although Kevin said to not expect all notes to be in Edd's bedroom, Double D figured at least the second note was. He checked every little spot he figured he hadn't looked in in a long time, but every hiding spot seemed useless. He was sure he would have found any notes when he did his cleaning. Sitting down on his desk chair, about to give up, he looked over at his bookshelf. Could there be a note there? Impossible. Edd knew he read over each of his books every other week... well, most of them he did. His eyes widened as he got back up and walked over to the shelf. There was a photo album he hadn't picked up in almost a year and perhaps Kevin knew that.

Double D quickly picked it out and started flipping through it, ignoring the many rather embarrassing photos of him as an infant. The second note _had _to be there. It only made sense! He looked everywhere else and he was positive Kevin would not leave the second note somewhere else. He would make it easy at first. Yes, he would. Edd knew he would. As Edd made it to last page of the album, a folded up paper fell onto the floor. He gasped, tossing the album aside and grabbed the note from the floor.

Double D held it in his hands, wrinkling it slightly with his tight grip. It had the number '2' scribbled on the front. He took a deep breath and began unfolding it.

_Hey, Edd. Second update, note or letter. Whatever you wanna call these. I know you've noticed I've been acting a little angry lately. Part of it is not even me. I just can't help myself. These needs. They won't let me be. I'm sorry for making you think I'm mad at you. I'm not. How could I ever be? You're nothing but amazing. I really don't know what to say. This problem keeps increasing. This person threatened me the other day. I'm not that scared of him. I can handle this. I just need to stop pissing him off. I keep making promises that I keep breaking, so I don't blame him for getting impatient. Just don't worry about me. Like I said, I'm not mad at you. I'm just not really myself. You'll find the next note taped underneath my prized possession. _

Edd tilted his head a bit. Kevin's most prized possession was no other than... his bike! Of course. It was a massive surprise the redhead didn't take the vehicle with him when he ran away. Double D wanted to rush over and get the note, but he decided it would be better to do so when Kevin's parents weren't home so he wouldn't have to answer any questions. He read over the note again and sighed. What person was Kevin talking about... It had to be the same person he was staring at and Edd wished he would have paid attention to who that person even was.

Whoever that person was most likely went up to Kevin and said something to him when Edd was around. Surely they did. At least once. Double D began pacing back and forth, rubbing his chin as he tried thinking back to anyone who talked to Kevin that looked suspicious, but no. Nothing came up. Whenever Edd was around, the only ones who talked to Kevin were his teammates, Nazz, Rolf, maybe Jonny. No one unusual. No one different. That person was secretive. Probably made sure his conversations with Kevin remained private.

But that person was responsible for what happened. They had to be. Why else would Kevin stare at them in discomfort? That person would be figured out and that person would pay for scaring the redhead away. Edd would make sure of it.

* * *

Double D didn't really know if he should tell anyone about the notes, but after thinking it over, he decided to at least tell Nazz. And so, after school, he walked her home and as they stepped through the front door, he sighed loudly and took the first note out of his pocket. He hesitated at first, but ended up handing it to her. Confused and curious, she took it and read it.

"Are you trying to tell me that Kevin planned his escape?" Nazz asked Edd as she held up the note, clutching it.

The sockhead pursed his lips and nodded. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm telling you, and please, Nazz, you're going to wrinkle it." Edd tried taking the note back, but Nazz moved away from him.

"I can't believe it," she said, shaking her head. "I thought running away was just a last minute thing he did because he freaked out, but he actually had plans to leave us for months!" She blinked hard, trying to rid of the tears that were starting to blur her vision.

Leave them. That's how it felt, but it wasn't what Kevin did and Edd didn't want to be mad at Kevin for it. The redhead did have his reasons, yet Double D couldn't help but feel some anger inside him. He couldn't get over the fact that his own boyfriend wasn't able to trust him enough to tell him what the hell was going on. Oh sure Kevin said he kept quiet because he didn't want Edd to worry, but that was no excuse. When you have a problem, you're supposed to talk about it with the person you trust the most. And if the person Kevin trusted the most wasn't Double D, it had to be Nazz.

Double D looked up at the blonde and knew she was thinking the same thing. Nazz sniffled and sighed. Why didn't Kevin just let them help him... Because Kevin wasn't one to let anyone in. He would try to show others he cared for them, but it always ended in failure. It wasn't in his comfort zone to open up to anyone, not even to his best friend. In this situation, the only he could show the two that he cared was by not wanting them to worry about him. He wanted to worry about himself. He loved attention, but not this kind of attention. He despised having others show pity for him. Going to friends for help only made him think that he would look weak, like he couldn't handle his own problems. And he was not weak.

* * *

**October 31, 2012.**

"It's Halloween, don't be such a downer," Nazz teased as she gently nudged Kevin as they made their way to their third period class.

Kevin laughed and shook his head. "I'm not being a downer."

The blonde sighed. "Are you sure? I mean, lately, you've seemed a little stressed out. Is everything okay?"

Kevin licked his lips. No, not really, but he wasn't going to tell her anything, so he just smiled at his best friend. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just... football practices and... school stuff."

"School stuff?" Nazz rolled her eyes. "There's something you're not telling me and I wanna know now, dude." She stepped in front of him and crossed her arms.

Kevin immediately had to halt in his tracks. He wanted to walk away, ignore her judgmental eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. "Jeez. You and Double D, sometimes you two are so alike that it scares me."

The blonde giggled. "Fine, don't tell me. I'll get you to tell me eventually."

Kevin clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Sure, if there's ever anything to tell."

Nazz scoffed and giggled again. Kevin smirked at her before turning and frowning to see someone standing nearby. He swallowed hard and looked back at his friend again before she could notice. She did notice already, though, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Hey Nazz," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow like ten bucks?"

Nazz nodded and took out her wallet from her bag. "Sure. What do you need it for?"

Kevin's eyes widened. "Um... just for reasons..." He forced a smile as Nazz handed him a ten dollar bill. "Thanks. I'll pay ya back as soon as I can."

"Don't worry about it, Kev," she said.

"Really?" A grin spread across his face. "Thanks, Nazz." The bell rang and they entered their classroom.

* * *

**Present.**

Edd gasped. "Did you happen to see who he was staring at?"

Nazz bit down on her lower lip as she tried thinking back to that certain detail. "It was this guy... I think I've seen him around before... but I'm not sure." She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Maybe if I see his face, I'll remember. I'll keep my eye out tomorrow."

"Nazz, do you realize that whoever that man is could be the reason Kevin was so afraid?"

Nazz furrowed her eyebrows. "I... what?"

Now Edd knew he had to show her the second note. He quickly took it out of his messenger bag and handed it to her. "In here, he speaks of a man who threatened him."

The blonde's eyes widened and she snatched the paper out of Double D's hands. Her eyes scanned each sentence quickly as her face began to pale a bit. "Oh my gosh." And her jaw dropped open as a realization began to hit her. Kevin was always borrowing money from her out of nowhere. It didn't bother her. He was her best friend and she would gladly let any of her best friends borrow money, but for Kevin to borrow so much of it was... weird. He never borrowed money from anyone. He always had his own.

"No," Nazz muttered under her breath. "That can't be it. No, it can't be." But she looked up at Double D and grabbed his arm. "We have to go back to Kevin's house now." She started heading towards the door.

Double D blinked, his feet practically dragging on the floor. "We already searched in his bedroom and we didn't find anything."

"I know," Nazz said as she let go of his arm and opened the door. "But I just remembered this little hiding spot he had in the bathroom and I really think we should look in it."

Double D tilted his head, but he shrugged and followed her out.


	5. Chapter five

A/N: I feel the need to put a warning that there's mention of drugs. I mean, should I put a warning for that? Well, whatever I did already lol.

* * *

**November 3, 2012**

Nazz thought about throwing her Halloween party on the actual day, but since it had been a school night, she decided to wait for the weekend. It had already been an hour of partying and some were drunk out of their minds. Nazz made sure not to drink too much. She wanted to be a good host and know what she was doing. The doorbell rang and she was relieved to be able to have an excuse to rush away from a few drunk teenage boys trying to flirt with her. Terrible drunk flirting wasn't cute.

She opened up the door and smiled to see Kevin on the other side, but that smile immediately faded when she realized he wasn't dressed up as anything. "Oh, of course." She sighed and stepped aside.

Kevin laughed at her reaction and wrapped his arms around her. "Oh, Nazz. You're so weird."

Nazz furrowed her eyebrows, but gently patted his back. "Um, okay." When he stepped back, she asked, "Where's Double D?"

The music was blasting loudly that Kevin had to have her repeat her question and when she did, he shook his head. "He's not coming." And rolled his eyes. Nazz noticed the laziness in them, but she didn't say anything about it as she continued to listen to him. "The dork's being a dork and studying." Kevin chuckled.

There was something strange about Kevin. He didn't seem drunk, but he didn't seem sober either. Nazz shrugged it off and told him to have fun while she went on to attend to the hungry guests, but he grabbed her arm. She flinched a little and faced him.

"What?" She asked.

"Then you should attend to me, nurse," he said, grinning. "I'm starving, man."

Nazz raised her eyebrows, but nodded and led him into the kitchen where many boxes of pizza rested on the counter. Half of them were empty so she grabbed those and headed outside to throw them away. Kevin grabbed himself a slice and practically ate it in three bites. A few sober teens standing nearby watched him in disgust. He noticed them and sneered.

"What the _fuck _are you looking at?" He shouted angrily. "You got a problem with someone eating?"

The teens gasped and stepped back, shaking their heads.

"Yeah, you better not." Kevin scoffed and grabbed himself another slice, oblivious to the fact that Nazz had already returned and was giving him a look of concern.

She had seen Kevin angry plenty of times, but not so much over such a simple little thing like that.

* * *

**Present**.

Kevin's hiding spot in the bathroom was a hole inside one of the cabinets that was covered by a piece of fabric. Nazz figured maybe his parents had discovered it already, but she knew that wasn't the case when she pulled off the fabric and saw there was still stuff inside. In the small hole rested a few fake IDs in which Nazz giggled at, because she had went with Kevin to get them and got herself one as well. There was also a few pictures of Kevin and Nazz as kids and she cringed at some of them, thinking, _gosh I looked gross here_. She set the pictures aside and reached her hand in again. She pulled out the remaining things, two storage bags containing...

"Oh, no," Nazz mumbled.

"What is it?" Edd asked. He had been standing near the doorway the whole, not wanting to get in the blonde's way.

"Kevin was..." Nazz sighed in defeat. How was she supposed to tell Edd this.

"Kevin was what?" the sockhead asked, stepping into the bathroom. "Nazz, what are you holding?"

Nazz pursed her lips and jumped up onto her feet. She held the two bags out for Edd to see, a scowl on her face now. "Kevin was doing drugs, Edd."

Double D's eyes widened. He didn't want to fucking believe that. That couldn't be true. No. His Kevin wouldn't do that, but he knew there was no use arguing against it. The proof was right in front of his eyes, in Nazz's hands and he suddenly felt sick.

Disgusted.

Horrified.

Angry.

Oh, yes he was angry. At Kevin for doing drugs. Angry at himself for not seeing it before.

Why would Kevin even do drugs? Was it school? Was school and sports becoming all too much for him to handle that he needed some sort stress relief? Edd hoped that wasn't really the reason. He already felt angry enough, so to think his boyfriend went for drugs to make himself feel better would only angry him further.

Kevin could have been caught.

He could have gotten himself in the worst trouble.

Did he think not think of that while he was doing these things?

Probably not, and that only made Double D want to fall on his knees and give into the aching feeling in his chest. He felt hopeless.

Nazz set the bags down on the counter. "Edd?" She spoke softly. "I know how you're feeling. I'm mad at him, too for hiding this from us. This is probably the stupidest thing he's ever done and-"

"I wish I didn't have to know this," Double D whispered, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. The tears were coming. Again.

"But Edd, at least now we know what his problem was." Nazz stopped and sighed. "Well, I mean, half of it. Obviously doing the drugs wasn't the reason he left. His problem was that he couldn't pay his drug dealer for this shit in time." She looked at the small bags and rolled her eyes. "Those are the promises he kept breaking and whoever that person is was getting pissed off at that."

Double D sniffled and crossed his arms. "Perfect," he said sarcastically. "This isn't getting solved quick enough. We still do not know who that person is."

"Dude, I told you. I'll keep my eye out."

Edd looked away from her. He wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to trust her. It was Nazz. She was always trustworthy to him, but at the moment, he just didn't really know what to think. Everything was moving too slow for him and he was getting impatient. He just wanted Kevin to make some fucking contact with them. He didn't care that he left his stupid little notes behind. Those didn't give Edd any indication that the redhead was okay because they were written before Kevin left. But they would help with something else. Maybe.

Double D took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "There is a note taped underneath Kevin's motorcycle... his prized possession, as he says so. Perhaps we should go retrieve it now."

Nazz nodded. Before they left the bathroom, she grabbed the two bags and stuffed them in her pocket. One thing's for sure, she wasn't going to let Kevin's parents know of their son's dirty little secret.

* * *

"Wow, Kevin's bike," Nazz said as they entered the garage. The vehicle rested against the on the other side. Nazz looked around the room and smiled to see the shelves stacked with boxes filled with jawbreakers. The whole room was practically filled with those. She remembered perfectly how addicted they all used to be with those jawbreakers, during the easier times when the biggest issues were Eddy's scams, not drugs. But of course, growing up always brought on unnecessary difficulties. That was life.

Nazz watched as Double D made his over to the motorcycle and grabbed the note from underneath. He joined her side again and unfolded the paper so they could read together.

_Update number three, I guess. This one's going to be short. I just wanna tell you what's going on with me already. Edd, you're going to hate me and I'm sorry, but I've been smoking. Not cigarettes, though. I'm so sorry, Edd, but I just can't stop. It makes me feel better and I can't get enough. But that's not all I've been doing. I also kind of do cocaine. Yeah, kind of. I know this shit is fucking me up little by little. I feel angry and hungry all the time, and also paranoid every now and then, but I also feel free, like the world is at peace. It's hard to explain. But I can't stop doing this. I'm sorry if you hate me after reading this, but even if I told you this to your face and you told me to stop, I wouldn't. I know you wouldn't understand, but oh well. This is my life. I can do whatever I want with it and if doing drugs makes me a bad person, then I guess I'm a bad person. _

"Wow," Nazz said, almost feeling like laughing. It was simply a little amusing to her how they found out his secret before reading about it. "Looks like we beat you to it, Kev."

Double D crumbled up the paper and tossed it aside. Kevin really didn't care that what he was doing was ruining his life. It wasn't just doing the drugs, it was getting involve with the wrong people to get them.

The sockhead walked out, leaving Nazz to stand there alone. She looked around again before sighing and following him.

* * *

"Oh, hey Sockhead," Eddy greeted when he opened the door. He then noticed Nazz and smirked at her. "Hey Nazz."

"Hey, Eddy," Nazz said softly. "I invited the others over, too. I hope you don't mind, but Double D and I really have something to tell all of you."

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He stepped aside and let the two walk into his home before shutting the door.

Double D looked at the coffee table and frowned. "Eddy, were you just sitting around and eating filth?" He shot his friend a disappointed glare.

Eddy rolled his eyes. "Don't lecture me."

"Very well. Though I do hope you have finished your homework already."

"Whatever, _Mom._" The shorter teen grinned, but Edd just huffed and placed his hand on his hip.

"Funny," he sarcastically said to Eddy.

"Okay, you two," Nazz said, clapping her hands together once. "This isn't the time for you guys to have your little bicker. Double D, we're here for a reason."

The sockhead groaned. He wasn't in the mood to discuss Kevin's doings. He felt almost ashamed, and he didn't want to, but it wouldn't go away. And that just irritated him.

Eddy was about to sit down when the door bell rang. He whined and started to walk to it, but Nazz held up her hand and told him she would answer it. Eddy smiled and sat down. Double D took a sit next to him on the couch and crossed his arms as they watched Rolf, Ed, Jonny, Sarah and Jimmy enter.

"What is this all about?" Eddy asked Double D.

Double D frowned. "You do realize you're about to find out, correct?"

Eddy scoffed and squinted his eyes at him. The others sat around and waited for Nazz to start talking. The blonde looked over at Double D, but the sockhead didn't move.

Oh, he wasn't going to explain anything. He was still trying to process the whole thing and knowing that, Nazz went ahead and spoke.

She stood in the center of the living room. "Okay, well, I called you all here today-"

"For some reason it had to be my house," Eddy mumbled.

Nazz blinked. "Because you're next door to Kevin and we were just at his house, so get over it." She rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to everyone else. "Anyways, you are all here, because Double D now know what was going on with Kevin." They all gasped, but she held her hands up. "No, wait. Don't get too excited. I mean, we only know half the story." Silence. "Yeah, so... well, Kevin was doing drugs." Another gasp.

Sarah and Jimmy turned to look at Edd. Edd slumped a little in his seat and pulled down his beanie to cover half his eyes. Why were they looking at him... He pouted and stared at hands.

"No one knew about this?" Sarah asked, her eyes still on Edd. "No one at all?"

Double D looked up at her and shook his head.

"No," Nazz said. "No one did. We just found out tonight." She took out the storage bags from her pocket and held them up.

Rolf jumped up from his seat and walked over to the blonde. He snatched the bags from her hands and looked them over. "Nazz-girl, what are these substances? Rolf is not familiar with these. Hmm, wait, they are just salt and oregano, yes?"

"Unfortunately, Rolf," Nazz said, taking the bags back from him. "It's marijuana and cocaine, which are drugs."

"Ah, yes, but are you sure?"

Nazz sighed. "I'm sure. I already smelled them."

"But why was Kevin doing these drugs? I believed the boy was smarter than that."

"So did I." Nazz looked down at the bags. "I'm sure he had his reasons."

Eddy patted Double D's back. Ed leaned against the sockhead, frowning to see the hurt in his best friend's eyes. Double D took a shaky breath and flashed Eddy a side smile before doing the same to Ed. At least he still had them, his two dearest best friends and he was sure there wasn't anything they kept from him. Eddy had almost been pressured into smoking, but he didn't give in and Double D wondered if that's what happened to Kevin—peer pressure. He knew Kevin was always trying to keep up his image of popularity. It was that reputation that had the redhead struggle with coming out, but he was beyond relieved when being gay and dating Edd didn't affect it too much.

Edd both cared and didn't care about why Kevin got into doing drugs. Every reason he could think of didn't make the situation seem any better.

"Boy, you think you know someone," Jonny said, shaking his head.

Double D nodded. Maybe you never really knew someone as much as you thought you did.

* * *

A week later, there was still no news on Kevin. The police promised they wouldn't give up, but it was evident that they wanted to. They were giving up hope. They didn't think Kevin could still be alive.

Fools.

Edd managed to stay sane with the help of Ed and Eddy who did a well job at keeping him distracted with their shenanigans. Eddy even started scamming more than usual just so he could give Double D something to do other than homework. It helped and Double D appreciated it, even when the scams were harsh and risky. It didn't really matter to him at the time, though.

Nazz kept herself occupied with spending time with her other friends. They offered somewhat of a distraction, never daring to mention Kevin. Nazz knew if they did, she wouldn't be so upset over it. If they were curious about the case and wanted to ask questions, they were more than able to, but the blonde was a little relieved that they never did.

On a Tuesday morning, Edd walked with Nazz to her locker. They had never spent so much time together before and it felt nice. It was different. A good different. They were both working to find the person they cared a lot for and it made Edd see himself as important. He was always doing something that benefited others, but this made him feel worthy of something.

Jake leaned against the wall next to the men's restroom when he saw the two walking by. He quickly made his way over to them.

"Nazz," he said softly.

The blonde halted and turned around. Edd did the same. Nazz smiled at him. "Hey, Jake. What's up?"

Jake ran his fingers through his curly locks and sighed. "I was just wondering if there was any news on Kevin."

That small relief Nazz felt when her friends didn't ask about Kevin was now gone, but she shook away the unnerving feeling and answered Jake's question, "No. Not really." She wasn't going to tell him about the secret. He didn't need to know that. "The cops haven't found any sign on him."

Jake furrowed his eyebrows. "Damn, I'm sorry." He looked at Double D and shrugged. "Same to you. I know you two were a thing and... well, I hope he comes back."

Double D nodded. The teen smiled at them before returning to his spot against the wall.

"Who is he?" Edd asked Nazz.

"Jake," she told him. "He's pretty cool, I guess." She snickered.

Before they could walk away, the door to the men's restroom opened and who stepped out caught Nazz's attention.

"Wait, Double D," she said, placing her hand on Edd's stomach to hold him back. "That's him."

The sockhead's eyes widened. "Him?" He looked over to see a tall, skinny teen with dirty blond hair greet Jake.

"Yeah, that's the guy Kevin was staring at." The color from her face practically drained. "I remember that smug smile and those pale blue eyes."

The teen laughed and Nazz wrinkled up her nose in disgust. Edd scowled at him, but he didn't notice neither of them as he and Jake walked off.

"Nazz," Edd spoke. "We need to have a talk with him."

Nazz blinked hard and faced him. "Dude, and what are we going to say? 'Oh hey, we know you were selling drugs to Kevin and threatened him when he wouldn't pay you, so we're here to tell you to leave him alone so he can come back'?" She shook her head. "We can't just confront him."

"What else are we supposed to do?" Edd asked.

"Make sure he really is the one who scared Kevin away."

Double D huffed, but he knew she was right. They had to be for sure, but he already felt like he was positive about it. That teen had trouble written all over him. Double D was ready to confront him.

He didn't like confrontation, but for Kevin, he would make an exception.

And he wasn't going to let someone get away with something like that.

Nazz saw the determination on Edd's face and smiled, knowing they were both thinking the same thing.

Karma was a bitch, and if this really was _the _person, then karma would just have to pay him a visit.


	6. Chapter six

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this took me long ;w; I've been having some writer's block.

A warning, there is violence in this one.

* * *

Now at least Nazz and Edd had a suspect. Edd almost confronted the guy—Colin, but Nazz had made it on time to stop the sockhead, telling him not to do anything stupid.

They needed the evidence.

But Edd was tired of waiting.

They had gone a week without finding whether Colin was the guy or not. So, Double D just wanted to get it over with already, but a certain blonde wasn't going to allow it.

"Nazz has a point, Sockhead," Eddy said to Double D as they sat around in Ed's bedroom, playing video games.

Double D sighed. "Yes, I know she means well, but I'm growing impatient."

"No, I know," Eddy told him. "Just confront Colin. Who cares what Nazz says."

"Eddy." The sockhead dropped his controller and his character was killed by Ed who jumped up and cheered about it. Double D smiled softly at the reaction, but then narrowed his eyes at Eddy. "I am not going to go beyond Nazz's wishes. She trusts me."

"But like you said, you're getting impatient. She's taking the long route in figuring this whole thing out. Go on your own. You'll finish faster without her." Eddy shrugged. "And you got Ed and me to help. You don't really need Nazz or anyone else."

"The more help, the better, Eddy."

The pudgier teen scoffed. "Yeah? And how's that working out for us so far?"

Double D thought about it. "Without Nazz, I wouldn't even know Colin was the possible suspect. She is a great deal of help and she's Kevin's best friend. She deserves to be involved if she wants to and she does."

Eddy beat Ed in the game and laughed at the pout on his taller friend's face.

"Eddy!" Ed whined. "You cheated!"

Eddy rolled his eyes and looked over at Double D again. He threw his hands up. "Fine, whatever then, Sockhead. I'm just saying, if you confront the guy now, you won't have to worry about it later."

Double D blinked and looked at the floor. He tilted his head a bit. Ed really needed to tidy up... a lot. He sighed. Eddy did make some sense, but Edd didn't want to do anything without Nazz. She had the right to be as much involved as he was—probably much more. If he was going to even think about confronting Colin, he wanted her to know.

* * *

"Have you found anything out about Colin?" Edd asked Nazz on Monday morning when they arrived at school.

The blonde smiled at Edd as he opened the front door for her. "Not really," she said, the smile fading. "No one really wants to tell me anything about the dude. I'm thinking about just asking Jake."

Edd's eyes widened a little. "Are you certain about that?"

Nazz shrugged. "Sure, why not? Like I said, Jake's pretty cool."

"Yes, he may be, but are you certain he will even tell you any secrets about his friend?"

This made the blonde stop walking. Double D had a point. Jake and Colin did appear to be close friends, the kind that wouldn't go around betraying each other. Nazz sighed in defeat and slumped her shoulders.

"What do you think we should do?" She asked, turning to face him.

Double D looked anywhere but at her. Should he bring up the whole 'just confront Colin' idea? He knew she would be against it, but he said it anyway. "Asking Colin himself might be wise."

Nazz scoffed. "Edd, you out of all people should know that's not a smart thing to do at all."

And she was right. It was the impatient part of Edd's mind speaking. He nodded. "Yes, it really isn't, I suppose."

"You suppose?" Nazz raised a questioningly eyebrow.

Double D didn't answer. He didn't have to. She was able to figure out. She already knew what was going on with the sockhead. It was happening to her too—the want... no, the _need_ to have everything resolved and returned to how it was. They never dealt with anything like this before and to have it just happen for what seemed like out of nowhere was unnerving. The school year was going to come to an end and Nazz feared Kevin wouldn't be back for summer. They always spent the summer together. He was already missing Spring time in Peach Creek. He was missing out on all the random March and April showers that were always followed by beautiful weather in May.

He always loved the weather in May and Nazz hoped that wherever he was, the weather would be nice for him there too. But really, she hoped it wasn't. She hoped horrible, windy days with thunderstorms would drive him back home, safe and sound.

Nazz shook the thought away. She was really worrying about Kevin not experiencing the same kind of weather she was. That didn't even matter. What mattered was getting the rest of the answers.

"Edd-" she tried speaking, but another voice interrupted her.

"Hey Nazz," Jake said as he walked up to them.

Both Nazz and Edd turned to face him, wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

Jake furrowed his eyes a little. "Did I interrupt something?"

The blonde closed her mouth and smiled. "No. No, you didn't." _Ask him about Colin. Come on, Nazz. You have to. _Her eyes shifted over to Edd again.

Double D shook his head as if knowing exactly what she was thinking. He could read it on her face and he really didn't think asking Jake was the right way to go.

Seeing Double D's answer, Nazz didn't say anything.

The brunet cleared his throat nervously and sighed. "Well, see ya around." He walked off, glancing over his shoulder to glare at them, but they didn't notice.

"That was awkward," Nazz said, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Edd nodded and smiled softly.

"I was going to ask him," Nazz went on, "But I can tell you didn't want me to."

"I didn't and I'm glad you didn't."

They began walking again, taking slow, easy steps while everyone around them moved a little faster.

"How are you so sure that you can even trust Jake?" Edd asked.

Nazz adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and shrugged. "Jake's not like Colin, Double D. I doubt he even knows his friend's a drug dealer."

Double D blinked. The thought of not knowing what someone so close to you is doing made him shudder. "That is quite an unsettling thought."

The blonde licked her lips and nodded slowly. "Yeah. Bet he's gonna be pissed when he finds out."

"I feel as if I should know this, but I don't, therefore I will ask you."

"Okay. What?"

"Were Jake and Kevin friends?"

Nazz thought about it and raised her eyebrows. "You know, I actually don't know either. I think the only reason why he cares if for the same reason everyone else does. Kevin was popular and him running away so suddenly caught them all off guard."

Double D swallowed hard, a sick feeling starting up in his stomach. He opened his mouth to say something, but words failed him as he sighed in defeat and looked down at the white linoleum.

Nazz gently placed her hand on his arm, but he didn't look up.

"I miss him, too," she whispered.

Hearing this, Edd made eye-contact. How did she know that's what he wanted to say? Nazz just knew and Double D was grateful for that. He forced the corners of his lips to twitch up to form a somewhat of a smile, but he knew it was useless. The blonde pulled him into a hug. Double D felt himself relax a bit at the embrace and he managed a small smile to settle on his face.

* * *

**November 6, 2013**

There was a light rain in the morning as Kevin drove to school on his motorcycle with Edd sitting in the back, arms wrapped firmly around the redhead's waist. Edd wasn't anywhere near scared of being on that motorcycle. He was the first time, for maybe a few minutes, but he quickly adjusted to its speed.

It wasn't half as dangerous as most of the things Eddy had put him through.

Kevin parked the vehicle in the school parking lot. Students standing around outside turned to stare. Kevin was always made an entrance. The redhead took off his helmet and waited for Edd to get off before he did.

"Stupid rain," Kevin mumbled.

"Oh, it's barely anything," Edd told him.

"Yeah, well it's going to get worse." The redhead rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Double D sighed. "It's nothing to get angry about."

"I'm not getting angry."

"Of course you aren't." Double D shook his head.

Kevin turned around and glared at him. "I don't need this right now, Edd."

Edd didn't respond. He simply just shrugged and started heading into the building with a brooding Kevin following slowly behind. A few whispered amongst themselves about how strange the couple looked. Kevin heard and stopped to look at them.

"Hey," he said, "Why don't you all mind your own fucking business for once, alright?"

Double D looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Kevin swallowed hard and sighed as he looked over at Double D. "Nothing, babe. Let's just go." He grabbed Edd's hand and practically dragged him into the building.

Edd glanced at the teens Kevin just spoke to. The teens looked away, seeming just as bewildered by Kevin's attitude as Edd was.

"Kevin," Double D spoke softly. "The forecast says the rain won't get any worse-"

"I don't care about the rain, Edd."

Double D rolled his eyes. "You did just a few minutes ago."

"Yeah, well that was then." Kevin let go of Edd's hand and faced him. "I'm just having a bad morning. I'm tired and hungry."

"You didn't have anything for breakfast?"

Kevin shook his head and Edd smiled as he began to rummage through his messenger bag. He pulled out an apple and handed it to his boyfriend.

"Something in your stomach is better than nothing," he said.

The corners of Kevin's lips twitched up slightly as he took the fruit and bit into it. Damn. He wasn't just hungry. He was starving. "Thanks, Edd."

"Of course."

The bell rang. Edd's smile brightened. "I will see you after class, Kevin," he said and reached up, planting a small kiss on the redhead's cheek before turning and walking off.

Kevin took another bite of the apple and watched as Edd disappeared into the crowd. "Yeah... later."

* * *

**Present.**

Ed and Eddy reluctantly followed the sockhead into his bedroom. There was a sort of determination on Edd's face that was making him antsy and frustrated. He had his mind set on something and it took seeing him search around his room for Eddy to figure it out.

"Note..." Eddy stopped to think about it. "Number four?"

"Yes, Eddy," Double D said as he looked through more of his books, shaking them crazily, and groaning when no folded up papers fell out.

Eddy looked over at Ed.

"Maybe we should help?" Eddy asked.

"No!" Edd said, spinning around on his heel. "There is no need, gentlemen. Please just make yourselves comfortable."

"Double D, you are scaring me," Ed admitted. "You look like a chicken who lost its head and is running around trying to find it."

"That's because he can't find the damn note and it's pissing him off," Eddy told him.

Double D raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Precisely."

"What, Kevin didn't leave you any clue to find the fourth one?"

"Unfortunately, no." The sockhead began rummaging through his closet.

Eddy sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Ed walked over to Double D's desk and began looking at the ant farm.

"Oh, hello ants," Ed greeted them, smiling brightly. "Has daddy D been treating you well?"

Double D blinked and looked over his shoulder. "I... perhaps I have been neglecting to count them. Oh, poor things." He shook his head and continued searching.

Ed sat down at the desk chair and began banging his hands on the wood, singing some song as he tried to make a beat. Double D ignored him. Eddy squinted his eyes as he glared at his tall friend. Ed stopped, making Eddy relax.

The tall Ed jumped up from the chair and lifted up the desk. "Double D, look how strong I am!"

The sockhead turned around and gasped. "Ed, put my desk down now!"

Eddy couldn't help but laugh.

"Eddy!" Double D huffed. "There is nothing humorous about this." He turned to look at Ed. "Please, put that down before you break something- oh! Good Lord, Ed! Don't swing it around!"

Eddy continued to laugh and bang his fists on Double D's bed as Double D began panicking about Ed. Ed laughed as he walked around the room, holding up the desk.

"Edward! Desist this behavior now!" Double D shouted.

Eddy took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Oh come on, Sockhead. Lighten up a little."

Ed looked up underneath the desk and stopped laughing and moving. "Hey Double D. I think I found your note."

Both Eddy and Edd gasped and looked at the other. The sockhead quickly ran up to Ed and looked up. Indeed there was a note taped under the desk. Clever of Kevin. Double D reached up and snatched it off. Ed finally put the desk back where it belonged and sat down next to Double D on the bed. Eddy scooted in closer to read as well.

_I wish I could tell you things are getting better, but they're not. Sucks but shit is only getting worse. I'm actually starting to really worry about myself, and that's weird. I never give a crap about what happens to me, but I'm getting worried now. Maybe it's because I actually care about the reactions from you and Nazz if something does happen to me. I would hate to see you two scared or sad. But if something does happen to me, just know that I love you._

That was it. That was enough. Edd had enough. There was no way he was going to sit back and wait anymore.

No.

Not after reading that.

He didn't care anymore about what Nazz said, or what she wanted, that she wanted to wait.

Colin needed to get questioned. Now.

* * *

Colin's locker wasn't far from Edd's. It was just down the hall. The blond stood at his locker, looking over the stupid doodles he and Jake exchanged in class and laughed quietly, not noticing that a certain sockhead was standing nearby, watching, waiting. Double D was just waiting for the hall to clear out more before he made his move. Students were quickly making their way out of the building, lucky for him.

But he was nervous. He was actually going to do this, and alone, too. Ed and Eddy had no idea. After they read the note, Eddy told Double D that he was sorry Kevin went through this. Double D pretended to be fine. He and his friends had ate dinner at his house, but then when they left, the sockhead went back up to his room and thought over everything he was going to say to Colin. He was nervous, but he also fired up and ready to blow up in the teen's face, to ask him how dare he threaten Kevin.

Once the hall was mostly empty, Edd mustered up all his courage and walked up to Colin. Colin crumbled up the papers and tossed them into his locker. When he shut it, he flinched a little to see Edd standing there.

"What do you want?" He sternly asked.

Double D furrowed his eyebrows. "To speak with you."

Colin scoffed. "Yeah, okay. What about?"

"As if you don't know."

"The fuck are you talking about?"

"Kevin!" Double D threw his hands up.

"What about Kevin?"

"Do not play dumb with me." Double D scrunched up his nose.

Colin's expression hardened into a more cold stare. "Dumb?" He growled and grabbed the sockhead from his shirt. He lifted him up. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, so I'm going to let you down, but you're going to leave me alone."

Edd tried to loosen Colin's grip. He shook his head. "You know very well what I'm talking about. You sold drugs to Kevin and then threatened him because he would not pay you back in time."

Colin raised an eyebrow and seemed to be thinking about it, then he snickered.

"It's not funny!" Double D snapped. "Do you really think it's funny to threaten someone's life? To scare them away? Because I do not!"

"Listen, kid-"

"I'm not a kid!" Double D put his hand into a tight fist and with all his strength, smashed it into the side of Colin's face.

The impact caused the teen to let go of Edd and fall back against the locker. Edd gasped a little, amazed that he was even able to do such a thing, but it felt good. Very good. Colin gently rubbed his cheek and glared at the sockhead.

"I wasn't going to do anything to you," he growled, "but now you've pissed me off."

Edd sneered at him. "You've already _pissed_ me off."

Colin lunged forward and grabbed Edd. "I didn't do anything to your boyfriend, you fucking dumbass!" He tossed Double D up against the lockers.

Double D slammed hard into the metal and slid down them, landing roughly on the floor. He groaned in pain, but before he could even try standing up, sharp pain hit his ribs and he yelped.

Colin continued to kick Edd and the sockhead felt defenseless. The pain was making him too weak to even try to move. The air felt as if it was being knocked out of him and it made his vision blurry, so he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and just squeaked as more hits came his way. The blond teen had been a soccer player before. He knew how to kick—hard.

And after a few more of those strong kicks, Colin reached down and picked up Edd, slamming him up against the lockers again. Double D opened his eyes and gasped as he saw a fist coming towards his face.

But he didn't want to regret coming up to Colin. The consequences... it was for Kevin. That's what he kept telling him.

For Kevin.


	7. Chapter seven

A/N: The first line of this chapter just felt so relevant to the ending of the last chapter, so I did the thing. Ok

Besides, Courage is awesome.

* * *

"The things I do for love," Courage the Cowardly Dog said as he got ready to rescue his owners once again.

Ed and Eddy sat on Eddy's couch as they watched the cartoon, but the pudgy teen couldn't stop feeling uncomfortable. Ed noticed this by the way Eddy kept shifting in his seat.

"Are you okay, Eddy?"

Eddy sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, I guess. It's just... we haven't heard from Sockhead. I know he said he was going to stay after school and would meet up with us later, but man, it's been a while already. What's taking him so long to get here?"

Ed sat up. "Do you think something happened to him?"

"Shut up, Ed!" Eddy furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not supposed to think like that!"

"I'm sorry, Eddy." The taller teen pouted.

"It's alright." Eddy tried not thinking about it anymore as he forced himself to put all his attention on the TV, but the gut-feeling wouldn't leave.

There was something wrong.

There had to be.

Otherwise he wouldn't be feeling this way. Heck, he never felt this way.

Double D just needed to call or text them, or something! Anything! Eddy wanted—no, he _needed_ to know his friend was alright.

"Maybe I should go over and check on him," Eddy mumbled. He sighed as he sunk deeper into his seat and thought about it.

* * *

Double D rushed into his house, locking the front door behind him before running up to his bedroom. He slammed the door shut and practically flung himself onto his bed. Normally he wouldn't think about just lying on his neatly made bed, but right now, he couldn't care less. He didn't care that blood was dripping from his nose and onto his white pillow case. He didn't care that he was sobbing almost uncontrollably.

He also didn't care that what he did was probably one of the stupidest things he's ever done.

He just didn't care anymore.

What he did was done and over with. A huge waste of his time, too.

Even though Colin left him cuts and bruises, Double D knew what he said was true. It was just the look in Colin's eyes. He wasn't Kevin's drug dealer and that only made the sockhead feel worse.

Now they were back to not knowing.

Great.

Just when they believed they were getting somewhere.

Edd wiped his eyes with the back of his hands and took in a shaky breath, trying to calm himself down, but the tears wouldn't stop. Why wouldn't they just stop? Why wouldn't the pain just stop?

Why wouldn't _anything_ just stop being so difficult?

Double D shook his head and sniffled. His hands went up to his hat. He grabbed it and tossed it aside in... anger? He wasn't really sure what he was feeling. It felt a mix of so many emotions all attacking him at once.

He just wanted to go back. Go back and maybe change things. Of course, that wasn't possible, but guilt was one of the emotions running through him. Because he felt guilty—he felt responsible for supposedly not being the good boyfriend he should have been.

But he reminded himself that he didn't know. If he would have known, well, that would have been a whole completely different story.

* * *

**December 31, 2012**

"For the last time, Edd," Kevin huffed as he and the sockhead made their way into his house. "I'm fine."

Edd mentally scolded himself for asking the same question ten times in the same day. It was Christmas. He should trust that Kevin really was fine and just let every little problem slide to enjoy a nice day with his boyfriend. But he couldn't help himself for caring so much. It was becoming obvious that something was bothering Kevin, and Double D just wanted to make sure...

"Anyways," Kevin said, snapping Double D out of his thoughts. "I got you something." He grinned.

Double D smiled lopsidedly. "Ah! Yes, presents." He reached into his messenger and pulled out a medium sized box that was neatly wrapped in shiny sliver wrapping paper with red stars on it. Looking up at the black baseball cap the redhead was wearing, Double D smiled brighter. "I think you will really like this."

Kevin raised an eyebrow and unwrapped the gift to reveal a red baseball cap. A smirk quickly formed on his face. "To replace my old one."

"Yes." Edd nodded. "I know how disappointed you were when it was ruined."

Kevin yanked off the black one and placed on his new red one. "How does it look?"

"Perfect."

The redhead smiled softly and Edd returned it. Silence took over for what seemed like a long time, before Kevin cleared his throat and walked over to the overly decorated, thanks to his mother, Christmas tree in the corner. Double D blinked and watched as Kevin picked up remaining gift underneath. Unlike Edd's present, this box looked to have been wrapped in a rush with plain green wrapping paper.

Double D carefully unwrapped it. The slow process was making Kevin anxious, but he didn't say anything about it. The sockhead opened the box to reveal an LED Magnilamp Magnifier. He stared at first, completely silent, trying to take in what he was looking at. And he couldn't believe it. He'd been wanting one of these for the longest time. His hand held magnifying glass was one of his most favorite things he owned, but to have one he could use at his desk with a light was just what he needed when working late in the middle of the night.

It was the perfect gift, but it meant even more to him because it was from Kevin.

"Thank you," Edd told him before gently placing a small kiss on the redhead's cheek.

"You're welcome, babe." Kevin pressed his forehead against Edd's and smiled. "And thank _you _for the hat."

Double D nodded. "You are very welcome."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to take two steps back. Follow me, alright?"

This sounded strange, but Double D obliged. "Why did you want me to-"

Kevin raised his finger up, pointing up at the ceiling. The sockhead blinked, but he looked up and smiled shyly to see a mistletoe hanging above them.

"That's why," Kevin told him.

"Ah, I see."

"You know the rules." The redhead smirked.

Edd giggled and nodded. "Yes, I do."

Their lips met and moved together in a slow, gentle manner and once it was over, Kevin wrapped his arms around Edd and held him in a tight embrace. Edd rested his head on Kevin's shoulder and sighed happily, unaware of the look of discomfort that rested of the redhead's face.

He was just... worried.

Though being in that moment with Double D did help him feel a bit relaxed. He didn't want the sockhead asking him anymore questions. He was tired of being asked by him, Nazz, Rolf, and his teammates. He was tired of having a reason to be asked, but he knew he had to deal with it until he fixed his problems.

That wasn't going to be easy, he knew that, but he was willing to at least try for the sake of feeling secure again.

Because he knew feeling this afraid could not be healthy.

* * *

**Present.**

Double D heard the many vibrations coming from his cell phone, each of them being caused from a phone call, voicemail, and text messages from Eddy. He would just stare at the phone as it lit up, but did nothing. He was in no mood to speak with his friends. He knew they would be angry at him for getting into a mess alone. They would tell him how idiotic it was of him to not tell them. Well, Eddy would tell him that.

Ed wouldn't lecture him. He would just go on and on about how he hopes Double D feels better and how mean Colin is. He would be the lovable and caring friend he is and embrace the sockhead tightly.

And Double D didn't feel like being hugged.

He didn't feel like doing anything but lie on his bed with tears rolling down his cheeks.

Food? No.

Homework? Surprisingly, no.

Count his ants? They could wait.

Water his cactus? Jim would be okay.

Chores? Oh, his parents wouldn't even notice, so why bother?

For now, lying there in complete silence, sniffling quietly and staring at his wall felt like the right thing to do. It was all he had the strength for. His entire body was sore from the beating and his heart was emotionally aching more than before. It throbbed in his chest and it that pain would only settle when he inhaled deep breathes.

His phone lit up again, followed by the vibration.

"Oh, Eddy," he said as he rolled his eyes. "Do you not understand by now that I do not wish to-" He raised an eyebrow as he looked at his phone and saw that the call was from an unknown number.

Usually he ignored strange numbers, but his curiosity was piqued. Sniffling one last time, he picked up the device, clicked the 'answer' button and held it up against his ear.

He opened his mouth and managed a soft, "Hello."

"Hey, Edd."

Double D froze as his eyes slowly widened and the color from his face drained. The ache in chest was replaced by excitement as his heart began racing and his hands were even shaking a little.

T-that voice. Could it really be?

Edd blinked hard and sat up. "Kevin?"


	8. Chapter eight

A/N: I honestly didn't expect the reactions I got from chapter eight. I'm sorry. I love you ok.

**Warnings**: Mention of violence.

* * *

Double D's eyes were now just as watery as they were when he first got home. He couldn't contain himself and he almost dropped his phone from how shaky his hand was, but he held it with all his strength and tried speaking again.

"K-Kevin," he manage to choke out. "Is... is that you?"

Kevin sighed in relief as he leaned against the payphone holder. Just hearing his boyfriend's voice was very settling to him and he finally felt okay again. "Yeah, it's me."

Tears trickled down Double D's cheeks, but he tried not sobbing uncontrollably. He didn't want this conversation to be mostly Kevin listening to him crying. That would be such a waste.

But...

Kevin was okay.

Kevin was alive.

And so Edd wanted to cry from how overwhelmed with relief he was. This is all he had been wanting, to know that the redhead wasn't somewhere slowly dying, or worse—already dead.

"Where are you, Kevin?" Edd clutched his phone tightly against his ear, not wanting to risk to miss _anything_ Kevin had to say.

It had been so long since he heard that voice. He also just wanted to listen to it, and listen to it clearly.

Kevin looked around and saw that a few were waiting for their turn in using the payphone which made him roll his eyes. Didn't they have cell phones? He had his, but from not wanting to be tracked down, he had tossed it away. So he had a reason for needing to use the public communication, and he didn't care how long they had to wait. They would just have to deal with it.

Clearing his throat, he took a deep breath and said, "I can't tell you."

Edd blinked. Had he heard that correctly? And more importantly, if he had heard it correctly, was Kevin really serious? The sockhead furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "What are you saying? Kevin, why not?"

"Because I don't want you or anyone coming to look for me. I want to stay away, Edd. Okay?"

Oh, so he was serious. But that just wouldn't do. Edd huffed. "No. It's not _okay_. None of this is _okay_. Do you really believe this is _okay_?"

"Okay, I deserve your attitude, but-"

"No, Kevin! This is serious. Where are you?"

Kevin didn't respond. He simply looked down at his feet. There was nothing more he wanted but to return home where he could just go about his regular life again. He missed school; even though it was awfully boring. Sports; football and baseball were his comfort zones and he wished he was playing baseball instead of standing in a payphone booth. Then of course there were his friends he missed, especially Nazz. He hated thinking about how torn she probably was.

And Edd.

Talking on the phone wasn't enough. He was content with just hearing that sweet voice, but it wasn't enough.

Edd wrinkled up his nose when it had been silent for too long. "Kevin," he sternly said.

The redhead sighed. "Look, I'm fine. Isn't that all that matters?"

"Yes... no, well yes. Kevin, I am glad to hear that you're fine, but this isn't fair-"

"What's not fair? If I go back-" Kevin's eyes widened. He couldn't talk about it.

Double D caught it though. "Who was it, Kevin?"

"What?" Kevin tried sounding unknowing, but it didn't fool Double D.

"You know exactly what I'm referring to. Now answer my question."

"I... I can't."

"You can't... or you won't?" Double D raised his eyebrow. He already knew the answer.

"Okay, it's that I won't," Kevin admitted.

And Double D just couldn't take it anymore. He allowed himself to burst into tears and he made damn sure Kevin heard him. The redhead closed his eyes and sighed in defeat.

"Edd... babe-"

"No!" Edd shouted. "Don't you dare call me that. You have no right."

Kevin reopened his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"You don't realize just how serious this really is, Kevin. You think it's okay that you disappeared on all of us, leaving us to wonder whether you're alive or not. For goodness sake, Kevin!"

"I know... I know-"

"No, you don't know, and that is the problem."

Kevin groaned. "I do know, Edd," he said through clenched teeth. This was not how he expected this conversation to go.

"So you believe that leaving me notes is going to do any help? What good are they? They didn't tell me where you were. Such useless pieces of paper." Edd sniffled and wiped his cheek roughly. "_Who_ was it?"

Silence.

"Kevin!"

"It's for your own good that you don't know, Edd!" Kevin shouted.

Edd didn't even flinch at the tone. He just rolled his eyes. "It's for your own good that you come home."

"No."

"Then tell me who it was."

"No!"

"How is it for my own good, exactly?"

"Because I know what you wanna do. Just stay out of it, Edd." And with that, Kevin hung up.

Double D gasped as he listened to nothing.

Kevin exited the booth and the impatient person next in line stated how it was "about fucking time". The redhead ignored him as he started walking down the sidewalk.

* * *

**November 19, 2012**

**The first threat.**

"Kevin."

_Oh, great, _Kevin thought as he halted in his tracks in the hallway. The school was practically empty. Only those who had after school clubs, practices, or detention—like he did, were still there. The redhead licked his lips and mustered up all his courage to turn around and face _him_.

"What's up, Jake?" He didn't want to give away how uncomfortable he was, and he felt that he was pretty convincing.

Jake smirked as he came face-to-face with Kevin. "Do you have it yet?"

_Crap._ "Not yet, but soon, I swear."

That smirk was immediately gone from Jake's face. He stared coldly at the redhead. "I've given you weeks, and I've given you more product. Your debt is rising and I'm thinking about adding a late fee."

Kevin frowned. "No, man. I'll give you the money soon-"

Jake grabbed Kevin by the collar of his leather jacket. "Do I have to tell you what will happen to you if you keep avoiding this?"

"I'm not avoiding it."

"I'll give you more time, because you're not so bad, but if you take much longer, my friends and I..." Jake's smirk returned. "Well, we won't hesitate."

Kevin sighed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Have you ever wondered how it feels to be stabbed repeatedly in the chest, stomach..." Jake shrugged. "Anywhere?"

Kevin had to swallow hard to prevent the bile from leaving his throat. "You're not serious?" His forest green eyes were wide with fear that it made Jake chuckle.

"You wanna figure it out?" Jake asked and Kevin shook his head. The brunet let Kevin go and stepped back. "That's what I thought, so don't make me show you."

"You won't have to, man. Don't worry about that." Kevin grinned nervously.

"Oh, I think you should be worrying, though." Jake winked at him before walking off.

The redhead took in a shaky breath and shook his head. Was Jake waiting for him? Most likely, and that thought was just _very_ unsettling. He had just been threatened, but not a "I'm going to kick your ass" kind of threat.

No.

Jake had actually threaten to kill him.

Kevin gulped and turned around, taking large steps down the hallway and out of the school building. Okay. He had to remain calm. Jake was giving him more time, but he had no idea how long that time would be.

It could be a few days, a few weeks, maybe months? Hopefully months, but he highly doubted that. The highest it was, his guess, was around a week.

He had a week to gather two hundred dollars, but he only had fifty. He had no job, no place was hiring, and he didn't want to ask his friends for money, or his parents. Definitely not his parents. They would ask questions and being this nervous, he knew he wouldn't be able to lie convincingly, especially to them.

He was screwed and he knew it.

And he just wanted to throw up.

* * *

**Present.**

Without knocking or ringing the doorbell, Double D quickly entered Eddy's house and slammed that door shut behind him. Ed and Eddy jump and even screamed a little, but relaxed when they saw it was only sockhead.

"Double D!" Eddy got up from the couch. At first he was going to say how he was glad his friend was okay, but then he noticed the cuts, the tear-stained cheeks, busted lip, and black eye. Eddy's jaw fell open. "What happened to YOU?"

Edd groaned and rolled his eyes. "That isn't why I came here-"

"But what the hell!"

"Who hurt your face, Double D?" Ed asked, running over to the sockhead, but before he could embrace him, Double D stepped away.

"I will explain later-"

"You'll _explain_ now, Sockhead!" Eddy shouted, pointing a finger at Edd's face.

Edd swatted the finger away and furrowed his eyebrows. "Listen to me! I will explain it after I tell you that Kevin called me!"

Ed and Eddy stood still and blinked as they stared at the sockhead.

"Kevin called you?" Ed finally asked.

"Yes!" Double D wailed his arms. "Now, may I tell you what the conversation consisted of?"

Ed and Eddy nodded. They watched as Double D took a seat on the couch before walking over and joining him. This was something they were interested in knowing when they were starting to believe Kevin probably wouldn't ever get in contact.

Double D sighed loudly before starting. "I asked him where he was residing. He refused to inform me on that. He also refused to tell me who it was that threatened him."

Eddy rolled his eyes. Typical Kevin. "I'm not surprised."

"Is he scared to come back?" Ed asked.

Double D looked at his tell friend and thought about it. Yes. Kevin was scared. That evident in the way he paused after saying, "If I come back..." The redhead didn't even want to think about what would happen if he returned home.

"Yes, Ed," Double D answered, slumping his shoulders.

"He can at least tell us who the person was," Eddy said. "We can turn that person in or something." He shrugged, feeling a little surprised in himself for actually wanting to do that, for wanting to help Kevin. But it wasn't really Kevin he was caring for. It was Edd. If helping out Kevin meant the redhead could come home and Edd would be happy again, then Eddy was all for it, because seeing Double D as a big mess was becoming unbearable.

"He told me he cannot tell me, because he knows what I'll do..." Double D softly said.

"Confront the person?" Eddy asked, and when Double D nodded, his eyes widened. "Sockhead... that's what happened to you, isn't it? You confronted Colin on your own, didn't you?"

Double D said nothing but bite down on his lower lip.

"Are you out of your mind?" Eddy jumped up from the couch and shook his head. "For a smart guy, you're an idiot!"

"Pardon me for wanting some answers," Double D said as he too got up.

"You coulda at least told us! We could have backed you up!"

"I wanted to handle this on my own!"

"And look where that got you!"

"This pain is only physical. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as the emotional pain I'm suffering through inside!"

Eddy snarled at his friend. "I swear, Sockhead, sometimes I wonder."

Double D squinted his eyes. "You cannot seriously be angry with me for trying."

"I'm angry at you 'cause you didn't include us! We're your friends! No, we're your _best_ friends. You're supposed to tell us these kind of things so we can help you! That's what best friends for!"

The sockhead opened his mouth to say something, but Ed interrupted.

"Please stop fighting!" Ed shouted as he jumped in-between them. "I don't like it when you two fight. What Double D did is in the past now. You can't do anything about it, Eddy."

Eddy huffed. "Yeah, but-"

"Shh!" Ed covered Eddy's mouth with his hand.

Double D's expression softened and he looked down at his feet. "I apologize for not letting you two know-"

"Yeah, you should be," Eddy said, but the words came out muffled through Ed's hand. He wanted to add about how worried he had been, but he decided against it.

The three of them sat back down on the couch as silence enveloped them, but they just sat there, staring at the long forgotten TV. Another episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog started. Ed grinned happily as he leaned forward and began paying attention to it.

"I love marathons," he said.

Double D and Eddy sat back and vaguely watched what was going on. It was something about a cat wearing a mask who hates dogs. The sockhead pouted and slowly looked over at Eddy. Eddy didn't make any eye-contact from not wanting to face those big puppy dog eyes Double D was giving him. He knew his friend was upset and he wanted to comfort him, but he didn't really know how to anymore.

What could he even say?

'Don't worry. Kevin will call again.' or 'He'll come back'?

But that wouldn't be a hundred percent true, and he knew Double D would know he was only saying that to make him feel better. Then Double D would say something like, "I don't need your pity, Eddy."

Therefore, Eddy remained quiet and Double D returned his attention back to the show.


	9. Chapter nine

A/N: I'm trying to get this fic done. LOL

* * *

Edd didn't bother mentioning the phone call to Nazz. He thought about it, of course, but in the end, he knew that if he told her, she would be determined to figure out where Kevin was. He felt the same way. He wanted to know, but he decided that when Kevin was ready, he would reveal his hiding spot or better, come home. Coming home seemed out of the question, though.

Everyday, Double D woke up with the hopes of receiving a phone call that day, but those phone calls never came. He waited for two weeks, but still nothing. He didn't bother looking for the notes anymore either. Why bother? He already knew Kevin suffered with being afraid and with trying to handle his cravings for more drugs, so there was no need to read about it.

Two weeks.

In those fourteen days, Double D began finding that going on was becoming easier, yet more difficult. He felt empty without Kevin, but not seeing Kevin everyday was starting to be something he was getting used to, and that made him upset. He didn't want to get used to not having the redhead around, but his hope was fading—slowly but surely.

Maybe this was really the end.

Perhaps Kevin would eventually get a job wherever he is and start his life over. But that seemed obscured. Would Kevin really stay away that long? Well, Edd was actually not doubting it so much anymore. As long as the redhead was safe...

Kevin was doing decently. Food and shelter weren't an issue anymore. He had gotten close to a guy who was only two years older that lived alone and that guy offered Kevin a room to stay in. The offer was ridiculous. Kevin didn't even know this stranger. He just knew his name was Logan, but he didn't know this guy's motives. Feeling desperate, though, he accepted.

And it hadn't been so bad.

He had a roof over his head, three meals a day, and indoor plumbing. Logan was receiving money from his college—financial aid and he also had also recently gotten a job, because that financial was mostly spent on textbooks that left him with only half of the money. And that half wasn't enough to pay the bills and still have enough for food.

Kevin felt bad he couldn't help out, but it was tough finding a job that would hire a high school drop out, because that's what he was, right?

After living with Logan for a few weeks, Kevin discovered that he really had no dangerous motives at all that it made Kevin mentally scold himself for not having faith that there were still some decent people in the world. Not everyone was a Jake, but most did seem so, or at least tried to, to be intimidating. But trying to be tough was pathetic.

Why couldn't everyone be like Logan and give everyone a chance?

Then again, Kevin couldn't exactly insult those who didn't for he had been like that, too. He had been pathetic, but he decided he didn't want to be pathetic anymore. And in deciding this, he did think about giving Edd another call, yet something kept holding him back.

"Just call him," Logan kept telling him. "I bet he misses you."

"I want to, but..."

"You don't even have a real reason not to. So, do it."

Kevin just sighed and shook his head as he failed to make that call again.

* * *

During fifth period, Sarah asked to use the restroom and was granted permission. The halls were empty. She would see one or two students passing by, but that was pretty much it. She listened to the sound of her own footsteps as she made her way to the girls' restroom, which was luckily far from her classroom. It gave her more time out of learning, and that was nice.

Before pushing open the door, voices down the hall caught her attention. It wasn't really that there were people skipping class, she didn't care about that. Let them do whatever they wanted. She would skip class, too... if she ever wanted to.

What did catch her attention was the mention of Kevin.

They were talking about him, but why?

Curiosity got the better of her and quietly made her way over, the voices becoming clearer the closer she got.

"I didn't think the loser would actually run away," a voice said.

Sarah peeked around the corner to see Jake with two other friends.

Jake laughed. "Of course he ran away. He tried acting like a badass, but he couldn't fulfill the role."

His friends joined him in his laughter. Sarah furrowed her eyebrows.

_Bastards, _she thought.

"I'm proud of myself," Jake said and Sarah tilted her head, wondering why. "I mean, it's hilarious. I scared him away."

The redheaded girl covered her mouth to stop herself from gasping. As Jake's friends laughed more, the brunet looked over his shoulder and saw Sarah staring at them. He glared at her and snapped his fingers at his friends to get their attention.

"It's rude to spy on people, little girl," Jake sternly told her.

Sarah crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do yourself a favor and turn around and leave without ever mentioning anything you heard me say," Jake said.

Did he really think saying that would work? Sarah scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Or what?" She raised her eyebrows. "You'll try scaring me away like you did with Kevin? The only reason why you got to him so easily is because you had him so hooked up on drugs that he was nothing but paranoid. You ruined him. This is all your fault and you'll have to live with that now."

"Oh," Jake placed his hand on his chest and pretended to look offended. "I feel so awful. I'm _so_ sorry. Can you ever forgive me?" He grinned.

"You're a real asshole, you know that?"

Jake sneered at her before coming full speed towards her. Sarah's eyes widened and she took off running, but Jake and his friends chased after her.

This was not good, not good at all. Sarah just kept running, hoping a teacher would hear and step out of their classroom. But no teacher did. While trying to turn a corner, Sarah slipped and fell flat on her side.

"Ow," she mumbled under her breath as she attempted to get up, but the fall had caused her to hit her ulnar nerve and the weakening feeling in her elbow was making it hard to gain her strength. "Stupid funny bone."

Sarah looked up and saw that Jake and his friends were now just walking to her. Her heart began racing. No. No. No. She shook her head.

"Just leave me alone," she told them.

"I would have," Jake said, "But-"

"But nothing." Sarah turned her head to see Jonny standing behind her.

"You're going to leave her alone," Jonny told Jake.

"Or what, Jonny?" Jake asked. "You're gonna make Plank give me a splinter?"

Sarah scrunched up her nose. "Shut up."

Jake snarled at her, but she didn't flinch. Jonny held out his hand and she took it.

"Thank you, Jonny," she said as she got up on her feet.

"I knew I heard voices out here," a teacher said as he stepped out of his classroom.

_You're a little late, _Sarah thought. "Um, yeah. We were just getting back to class now, right, Jake?" She smiled smugly at him.

Jake sighed. "Whatever. I'm not scared of some teacher."

"I know exactly who you are Jake," the teacher said, "And if you don't get to class now, I'll report you. Same goes for the rest of you."

The brunet groaned and rolled his eyes before heading off with his friends following behind. They all made sure to shove Jonny first, though.

"Now you two," the teacher told Sarah and Jonny.

"Yes, sir," Jonny told him.

The two turned around and began walking. Sarah rubbed her elbow, relieved that the funny feeling was leaving.

"What happened back there, Sarah?" Jonny asked.

The redhead chewed on her lower lip. "They're the reason Kevin's gone... well, Jake is."

"He's the drug dealer?" Jonny widened his eyes and Sarah nodded. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know," Sarah said. "I wonder if Double D knows."

"Well, just in case he doesn't, tell him anyway. Nazz and Rolf, too. They really should know. They'll know what to do."

Sarah agreed. "By the way, Jonny."

"Yeah?"

"I would be scared of getting a splinter from Plank." She smiled at him.


	10. Chapter ten

It was around four pm when the call came in. Nazz had just finished her shower and the fact that it was an unknown number made her immediately answered, because she already knew who it could be, she could just feel it.

"Kevin?" Were the first words she uttered, hoping with everything that she was right, that it was him calling.

"Yeah, it's me," Kevin responded and Nazz sighed in relief.

"Oh my god," she said. "How are you? _Where _are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened, Kevin? Why did you leave-"

"Whoa, slow down, Nazz," Kevin interrupted her. He licked his lips and looked around. Logan wasn't home. "Look, I'm fine, so don't worry. I just wanted to call to check up on you."

Nazz rolled her eyes. "Well how do you think I'm doing, dude?! I've been freaking sick worrying about you."

"Don't worry anymore, then."

"Why?" The blonde squinted her eyes. "Are you coming home?"

Kevin scrunched up his nose. "No."

"Why the hell not?! Are you at least going to call your parents and tell them you're okay? I swear, Kevin, they're more miserable than Edd and I are. I've barely seen them leave the house. I don't even think they're going to work. Work is the last thing they care about right now."

"What?" The redhead furrowed his eyebrows. "You're kidding..."

"Why would I lie about this?"

Kevin took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Before running away, all he thought about was how free he would be from the danger he put himself into. He did know his friends and family would suffer, but he honestly didn't think about just how much they would. They really cared, much more than he thought, and that almost pissed him off. His parents hardly ever showed interest in him before. They would just feed him, give him money, and feel that it was enough to show their "love". They never bothered asking him how he was, and they never attended any of his games.

But of course, the second he's gone, they shatter and all the love is revealed.

Kevin didn't want to be mad at them for it. At least now he knew for sure that they loved him. He just wished they would have showed him sooner. Maybe then he would have felt more guilt about disappearing on them.

"Kevin?" Nazz's voice snapped Kevin out of his thoughts.

He cleared his throat and blinked hard. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Talk to them, dude. You don't have to tell them where you are if you don't want to-"

"I also don't have to talk to them at all."

"But they deserve to have some peace."

"Look, I know it sucks having them worry like this, but I just can't talk to them."

"Tell me why not!"

"Damnit, Nazz. I just can't."

Nazz scoffed and shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see her. He was being difficult. He was always difficult, but now more than ever.

"You're testing my patience, Kev," she told him.

"It's about time someone does."

"Kevin..."

"Look Nazz, I gotta go. Take care of yourself. I'll call you sometime again later. Bye."

"No! Kevin, wai-" Too late. Nazz looked at her cell phone and groaned. "I swear, Kevin. Sometimes I just don't know."

She couldn't really say she expected that phone call to be filled with heart-filled words and tears. It was Kevin. This was just how it mostly always was, but she still loved him dearly, and that's why it hurt. It hurt because she missed having him there. It hurt because he wouldn't come back. It hurt because she also knew she wasn't the only one hurting.

His parents were hurting, and it did disappoint her how Kevin wouldn't speak with them.

Then there was Edd...

"Edd," she said breathlessly. "Oh my god. I have to tell him." Nazz grabbed the doorknob, but froze when she realized she was wearing nothing but a towel. "Okay... maybe I should get dressed first."

* * *

Double D was up in his bedroom, watering Jim, a task he had been avoiding far too long. He apologized to the cactus, but the words were interrupted by a yelp when the doorbell startled him.

"Who that could be?" He wondered as he made his way downstairs. He expected Eddy or Ed, or both, but not Nazz.

"Oh, Nazz," he greeted her with a soft smile. "What a pleasant surprise. Please, come in." Double D moved aside and allowed the girl to step in.

"I have something to tell you, Edd," she said.

Edd closed the door and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "Would you like to sit on the couch?"

Nazz took her seat and Edd sat down next to her. The blonde seemed a bit nervous as she wiped her palms on her jeans.

"Is everything alright?" Edd asked her.

"Kind of." Nazz sighed and faced him. "I just got a phone call from Kevin."

Double D didn't know how to react. He never told her about his call, so he was unsure whether to look surprised and never mention it, or just tell her the truth. Nazz furrowed her eyebrows when she didn't see a hint of the reaction she expected.

"Why aren't you freaking out?" She asked.

"That is because... I might have received a call from Kevin."

Her eyes widened. "When?"

"A few weeks-"

"Double D!" Nazz jumped up from the couch and began pacing back and forth. "You never bothered telling anyone?! That's something you tell someone, Edd. You've known for two weeks that he's okay, and you didn't tell me? You let me worry while you just sat back knowing?" She stopped pacing and crossed her arms as she turned around and looked at him. "I can't believe you."

"I did tell Ed and Eddy," Edd softly replied.

"Are you kidding me? Well, why not tell me? Or Rolf? Or anyone else?!"

Double D opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say anymore. He didn't blame Nazz for being upset. She had a right, too. Perhaps he should have told her, but he was hoping Kevin would call again, and he would have told her then, but Kevin never called.

A sniffle made the sockhead look up to see Nazz's eyes now glassy.

"How could you not tell me, Edd?" She asked him.

"Oh, dear. I never meant for this." Edd slowly got up and tried walking over to her, but she backed away.

Eventually, though, she gave up getting away from him and broke down. Double D made his to her side. He hesitated at first, but he knew he had to do it. So he wrapped his arms around her, awkwardly, and just held her as they were both on their knees... on the floor. But Double D ignored that part. The gesture made Nazz want to laugh a little, but she had no strength for it.

"I'm so... mad... at you... Edd," she said through her sobs.

Double D bit down on her lower lip as the guilt overfilled him, and the guilt grew stronger when he couldn't help but want to ask her what the phone call was about. Though he knew this wasn't the time. Curiosity would just have to take a seat and wait patiently.

"I'm so mad at you," Nazz repeated, her voice sounding shaky from crying so hard and trying to calm down.

Edd sighed. "I understand, Nazz. I truly do and-" He was silenced by hands grabbing his face and lips being pressed against his own.

Her lips were soft and her touch was comforting that Edd wanted nothing but to melt into the kiss. It made his heart really warm up for the first time since Christmas. He gently placed his hand on her tear-stained cheek as their lips slowly moved together, but it was only seconds after that when they both pulled away and stared stunned at each other.

"Oh my god..." Nazz whispered.

Edd could feel his cheeks heating up. He pulled down his beanie and covered his eyes. "I-I... I'm not sure what to say."

Nazz touched her lips. "Dude, me neither. Let's never talk about this again, yeah?"

"Agreed."

* * *

Kevin stared at the phone as he sat on his bed and tapped his fingers on his lap.

"Maybe I shouldn't have hung up on Nazz..." he said to himself.

He picked up the phone and started dialing another person he had been meaning to call for quite some time now...

Jake was walking home when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He didn't bother checking who it was when he answered, "What?"

Kevin shook his head. Typical answer. He was not surprised at all. "Hey, Jake."

Jake halted in his tracks when he recognized the voice. A silly grin spread across his face. "Kevin! Hey. How ya been? Heard you haled ass out of town. I wonder why." He chuckled.

"You little shit," Kevin said calmly, but sternly.

"Whoa, easy now on the language, Kevin."

"Why do you gotta be such a sarcastic bastard? Aren't you annoying enough as is?"

Jake shrugged and began walking again. "I can't help myself, I guess." He smirked. "But I know that's not the reason why you called. So, why did you call me out of everyone?"

"I've already called Edd and Nazz. I just needed to tell you something."

"Then fucking say it already. I don't have the time. I'm about to go meet up with someone-"

"Shut up. I bet you're just going home."

The brunet frowned. "Say it already."

"I will admit right now that running away was the most coward thing I could have done, but I won't be gone for too long."

"I'm not afraid of you, Kevin. And you better not come back. I already told you what would happen if you ever thought about coming back."

"But do you really think I'm going to stay away forever? Come on, I deserve to get some revenge."

Jake clenched his teeth and wrinkled up his nose. "Kevin, our deal was that you stay the fuck away and you won't need to pay me back. I told you your stupid boyfriend would get it if you break the deal!"

"Why are you getting so mad, though? I thought you weren't afraid of me."

The brunet growled. "I'm mad because you never listen to me!"

Kevin grinned and held back his laughter. It was just amusing to cause someone like Jake to become angry. "Who gave you the right to bark orders?"

"I gave myself the right! And if you even think about coming back, I'll go over to your boyfriend's house right now!" A few people standing around stared at Jake in horror, but he glared at them and they quickly walked off.

Kevin frowned and gulped. "No you won't."

"Try me, Kevin. I know where that kid lives. I don't have to wait for tomorrow. And I should beat his ass now because he tried getting into a fight with one of _my_ friends. It's just too bad for him that he's weak, so Colin won."

"What?!"

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Jake smirked lopsidedly. "Yeah. That happened."

"Leave him alone, Jake!"

"I will. If YOU keep your word."

Kevin flinched a little. He wanted to yell back, but he knew that wouldn't do him any good.

"Got it?!" Jake shouted.

"Yes." Kevin rolled his eyes.

"Good." The brunet hung up and Kevin sighed in defeat.

He knew that would happen, especially when he had no real plan. What was he even going to do? He didn't know, but he still took the risk in trying.

There was no harm in taking risks... except for when they fail.


	11. Chapter eleven

A/N: I ship SarEddy so I did a thing. A small thing, but a thing.

Oh, and "Come Back When You Can" by Barcelona is like _the_ song for this chapter.

* * *

Sarah and Jimmy made their way to Eddy's house as soon as they were done with their meeting in theater arts club. Jimmy wondered idly why they weren't going straight to Double D's house if he was the one who needed to hear the information, but then he figured Sarah believed Double D was at Eddy's place. And that made sense. He was mostly always there.

"Eddy!" The girl shouted as she opened the front door.

Eddy jumped, nearly dropping his phone and missing the third step on the stairs. "Jeez, Sarah. You can knock, ya know?"

"This is more important than knocking, you idiot!"

Jimmy couldn't help but giggle at that. Eddy snarled at the redheaded girl and crossed his arms.

"Hey," he said. "You're in _my _house. Show me some respect." He stepped off the final stair steps and came face-to-face with the girl.

Sarah shook her head. "I didn't come here to argue with you."

"Then why _did _ya come?"

"To tell you that we know who sold drugs to Kevin," Jimmy told him.

"Yes, exactly," Sarah added.

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's great and all, but why you two telling me and not Sockhead or Nazz?"

Sarah frowned, but shrugged. She really had no excuse, other than having the need to Eddy. Was it a need, though? She didn't know. She just knew she was anxious to speak with him for no reason, or at least for a reason she wasn't aware of.

Eddy squinted his eyes at her. "Okaaay then. Let's just go tell Double D now."

The two nodded and followed Eddy out and over to Double D's home where they found the sockhead sitting on the couch with Ed. They were indulging themselves with watching a whole bunch of old monster movies from Ed's collection.

"Oh, hey Ed," Eddy greeted him.

"Hi Eddy! Double D told me to come over to make him feel better," Ed explained.

Edd smiled. After the little incident with Nazz, the blonde went home and Edd had the need to distract himself. before turning to face Eddy, Sarah, and Jimmy. "What brings you all here?"

"Sarah's got something to tell you." Eddy slumped down on the couch and waited for the redheaded girl to start.

Sarah sighed. "Well, Double D, I know who it was."

Double D blinked, not quite understanding, but then it processed and he gasped. "Who was it?!"

"Jake."

Jake.

Of course it was Jake. And Nazz truly believed that Jake was innocent, that he had no idea of what had even happened, that he stayed away from drugs. He acted as if he cared, as if he honestly was concerned with Kevin's well being.

But he wasn't. He never was.

Who knows how hard he resisted laughing when he asked Nazz about Kevin. Oh he was a clever one, did a decent job at hiding his crime. But one could only lie for so long.

Eventually, everything was figured out.

Double D furrowed his eyebrows and stood up from his seat. "Jake?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, that guy who hangs with Colin."

"Oh, I knew he was trouble." Double D shook his head as his hands clutched into tight fists. "That... that... that-"

"Prick?" Eddy helped.

Edd looked at him. "I suppose that'll do, but not even all the swear words would be enough to describe how awful he is."

"What are you going to do, Double D?" Jimmy asked, worry overcasting his eyes. "You can't do anything you'll regret."

"Jimmy is right, Double D," Ed said.

Double D groaned. "What do YOU suppose I do then? Just let him get away with it?!"

"No!" Sarah shook her head. "Of course not, but at least think about it. Come on. We all saw what happened last time you tried doing something without really planning it out."

"Yeah, Sockhead," Eddy said. "This time, let us help you. Hey! We can scam out of his all that money he has from being so scum."

"We can do that _and _something else," Sarah said, a devious grin spreading on her face.

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "Looks like your sister's already got a plan cooking up, Ed."

"What is it, Sarah?" Ed asked her.

"Yes, do tell," Double D added with a nod.

Sarah's grin softened into a smirk. Ed and Jimmy exchanged looks, already not liking this so-called 'plan'. Jimmy gulped.

"I have a bad feeling about this," he said.

* * *

"Hello?" Edd said as he picked up the phone. He knew it was Kevin. He just knew it.

And he was right.

"Edd... how are you?" Kevin asked. "I called Nazz earli-"

"Yes, I heard."

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, of course. Um... so, how's everything?"

Double D squinted his eyes. His silence spoke for him.

"Right," Kevin said. "I'm sorry, Edd. I'm sorry for being such a screw up... I'm just sorry, for everything. And you don't have to forgive me. In fact, I think I rather you don't, because I don't deserve your forgiveness. Heck, I don't even deserve you, but you still..." He bit down on his lower lip, contemplating whether to say anymore of it or not. "Well, I'm just sorry."

Double D could feel himself wanting to choke up, but he swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed. "I-I forgive you, Kevin. I understand the pure pressure high school can have on all of us. I don't hate you for anything you did. You could never really make me hate you. Why, even as kids I didn't have any resentment towards you for bullying my friends and I. And I do see that you had to run away for your sake, to protect yourself. I still love you. Despite everything, I love you." The sockhead took a deep breath. "May I ask you one thing, though?"

"Anything."

"Even I wasn't enough to make you stay? Or Nazz? We weren't enough to make you want to stay and simply get help?"

"Edd..." Kevin rubbed the back of his neck, not knowing what to say.

"You ran like a coward."

"But you just said-"

"I said I could see why you did it. I never said it was smart."

"Oh."

Edd looked down at his free hand, trying to think of what else he could tell Kevin. Should he mention Jake? No. He needed to get something else off his chest. "I could have helped, Kevin. Do you realize that was one of the very first things that came to my mind when you first left? That I could have done something to help if you would have just talked to me."

"It wasn't something you needed to be involved with, Edd."

"Oh, I'm involved now."

Kevin's eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"It was Jake, wasn't it?"

"Edd, don't you even think about doing any-"

"Too late, Kevin. It's already going to happen."

"What's going to happen?!"

No answer.

"Edd?! Answer me, damnit!" Kevin tossed off his baseball cap in frustration and sighed roughly. "Edd!"

Double D looked up and licked his lips. "I love you, Kevin. Just... come back home when you can. I'll always be waiting."

And then the line went dead.


	12. Chapter twelve

A/N: This is the longest chapter so far.

Enjoy!

We can cry together ok

* * *

Sarah's plan was something Edd immediately agreed to. Oh anything that would make Jake regret what he did was a fascinating idea to the sockhead, and though that made him feel bitter, he couldn't help it. It was a bitter-sweet feeling and he wasn't complaining. Not really.

After discussing the details, Double D went over to Rolf's house and explained it to him. The blue-haired teen agreed to it. Ed agreed, too, saying he would do anything if it meant Kevin could come home. Eddy, on the other hand, didn't want to have anything to do about it. He told them the plan was flawed, but since none of them would listen to him, he decided to shrug off the bad feeling he had about it and join them.

He did want to be there for Double D, he was just annoyed that the sockhead wouldn't hear him out. In the past, it would be the other way around, so he didn't whine about it, but he had newfound guilt knowing he had made Edd feel this way many times.

So the plan was on. Unfortunately.

Nazz definitely needed to be included, or at least, told about the plan. The others involved didn't quite think so. It was Edd who eventually convinced them how unfair it would be if Nazz wasn't aware. He didn't want to go behind her back anymore. Then again, he was a little nervous about speaking with her after what had happened between them. It was just a simple kiss, but he really didn't know how she felt about it. He was sure she didn't have feelings for him. No... that was impossible. She was merely feeling vulnerable and Edd just happened to be there during that time of need.

Everyone needed some sort of comfort.

And even if she did like Edd, she was Kevin's best friend. She could respect that Edd was with her best friend, that was a definite, because Nazz wouldn't dare go in-between a relationship. Yet, Edd still felt uncomfortable having to talk to her. He waited until the next morning, Saturday, to do so, just to give him sometime to sort out the conversation, know exactly what he was going to say. He would say it, she would give her response, and that would it.

It seemed easy enough. Double D just hoped it really would be as easy as he planned, but hardly anything ever went as planned.

Saturday morning, as it almost neared noon, the sockhead made his way over to the blonde's house. Her parents weren't home, he could see by both their cars being out of the driveway, and for that, he wasn't relieved. That meant they had to have this discussion in her house... alone. What if she wished to speak about the kiss?

"Hey, Double D," Nazz greeted him with a sweet smile. "How are you?"

That question. His parents had actually bothered asking him the question, but he responded with a simple shrug. As if they even cared.

"Oh, I'm fine," he told Nazz. "May I come in?"

"Of course, dude." Nazz moved out of the way and closed the door once Double D was inside. "So, what's up?" She asked.

Double D tried to ignore the way his heart was racing. This felt all too strange for him. This girl... well, he used to have such a massive crush on her, and just the day before, she finally kissed him, but it wasn't right. They pretty much used each other for comfort. And those feelings he once had for her were long, _long_ gone. But that make this any less difficult.

"It seems as though we have figured out the culprit," he began.

Nazz widened her eyes. "Really? Who is it?"

"J-Jake."

She tilted her head. "Are you sure?"

"Sarah heard him speak about it with his friends, therefore, yes, I am more than sure. Nazz, this man is not who you believed him to be. He's dangerous."

Nazz sighed and nodded. "Wow, yeah. I didn't know..." The look of surprise then turned into a furious one. "He's going to pay for this."

Edd scratched his arm and tapped his foot. "And that is also why I came."

Nazz looked over at him. "What do you mean?"

"You see, Rolf, Ed, Eddy, and I have plans to _meet _with him this evening at the movie theater, though he won't know of it. We figured out where he was going tonight, so we'll give him a little surprise."

"Oh my god, Edd. I know exactly what you four are going to do, and I say you shouldn't." Nazz crossed her arms and shook her head. "Don't even think about it."

Those were basically Kevin's exact words.

"Goodness, you and Kevin certainly are best friends," Edd told her.

"Edd!" Nazz rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Dude, you guys can't just go after Jake. What if he has more guys with him and they outnumber you?"

"According to our source, he is going out alone."

"Who's your source?"

"That isn't the point."

"So, what is the point, Edd? To go out there and do something incredibly stupid?"

Double D narrowed his eyes and Nazz shrugged.

"Well, that's what it looks like," she said.

"I'm sorry that you don't approve of this, Nazz, but we are still going through with it. I only wanted to let you know." Double D gave her a soft smile before turning and heading towards the door.

"Double D," Nazz said sternly.

The sockhead sighed and turned back to look at her. She wore a frustrated expression, but it quickly faded into something more gentle as she walked up to him.

"Since I can't stop you, good luck," she told him. "And also... I'm just... well... have you thought about yesterday?"

Oh, there it was... the mention of the kiss. Double D wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it. He was already having trouble trying not to seem too awkward with her.

"I... perhaps a little," he admitted.

Nazz's face lit up, but before she could say more, Edd spoke again, "I really must go home. Mother has left me a list of things to do that I have to finish before tonight. Have a wonderful day, Nazz."

And with that, Edd was gone. Nazz blinked, feeling dumbfounded. The kiss hardly meant anything to her. She just wanted to make sure things were okay, the same, between her and Edd, but apparently she wasn't going to get that answer directly from him.

His actions spoke enough.

Obviously things weren't going to be the same, not for now at least.

And who was she if she really let him and the other three do what they wanted to do?

Nazz went up to her bedroom and grabbed her cell phone. She called back the number Kevin had called her from. The redhead had just finished his breakfast when the phone rang. He and Logan looked at each other before he shrugged and said he would answer it. Logan nodded and resumed washing the dishes.

"Hello," Kevin answered.

"Hey, Kev, it's Nazz."

Kevin raised his eyebrows. "Oh, hey. What's up?"

"It's Edd."

"Oh, man. What did he do? He told me he was going to do something, but I really didn't think he was going to actually do anything. Fuck. Is he okay?"

Nazz walked over to her bed and sat down. "He hasn't done anything yet. Apparently he's going with Rolf, Ed, and Eddy to _surprise _Jake at the movie theater."

Kevin's eyes widened. "Which movie theater?!"

"I'm guessing the one downtown."

"You have to stop them, Nazz. They don't know how dangerous Jake is."

Nazz nodded despite the fact that he couldn't see her. "How dangerous is he, Kevin?"

The redhead furrowed his eyebrows. "Um..."

"You can tell me now. It's okay. I won't say anything to anyone. What did he do to you?"

Kevin leaned against the counter. He honestly didn't want to hide the truth from her anymore. So, he swallowed hard and explained. "He ran me out of town because I wouldn't pay him back. He said if I left, I wouldn't owe him any money, but if I... if I do come back, he'll do something to Edd."

Nazz gasped. "You're kidding?" She just imagined how scared her best friend actually was, and that made her heart ache to think... and she didn't want to think about it anymore. Someone who she always viewed as so fearless and carefree was so broken and destroyed with poison. To make matters worse, the owner of that poison decided it would be fine to add to the chaos, by kicking him out, as if he owned him.

And of course he did it by using Kevin's weakness against him. It was cruel. It was irrational. All this time she believed Jake to be the good guy, that he did care about Kevin, but that was just something he used to cover up the truth.

Nazz felt foolish for not seeing it earlier. She gently slapped her forehead and groaned quietly. _I'm so stupid. I should have known. _

"I'm not kidding," Kevin's voice brought her attention back. "At first he threatened to kill me, but then he came up with that idea and I don't know, he found it hilarious. I just went with it, because I didn't have the money and I just didn't wanna die."

"But Kevin... dude, you could have told me. I would have reported him."

"Don't report him."

"Give me a reason not to. He threatened to kill you and now he forbids you from coming home? What the hell? Why should I let him get away with that?"

Kevin wrinkled up his nose. "This is why I didn't want to say anything, Nazz."

"But this is serious!"

"I know already!"

"Then you'll let me call the cops on him. Okay? He'll be arrested and you can just finally come home! Dude, it's a great idea! Please?" Nazz's lip quivered a bit. "I just miss you. I want you here. Don't you wanna come home?"

"Of course I do."

"Then let me?"

"But..." Kevin ran his fingers through his hair and noticed that Logan was staring at him with a concerned look. The redhead sighed. "I'm just worried that if you do that, his friends will go after Edd, or you! Nazz, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happens to you both."

"I don't think his friends will do anything," Nazz told him.

"How are you so sure?"

"I don't know. Just let me take this risk. Please!" The tears burned Nazz's eyes and she shut her eyes tightly. "Kevin, please."

Kevin wanted to say yes, but something kept holding him back. "N-no, but Nazz, you do have to try and stop Edd."

Nazz sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'll try, but you... you think about letting me turn Jake in."

"I will."

"Thank you."

* * *

**January 1, 2013**

The fireworks were now blasting off one after another after another, in celebration that the clock had just struck midnight and it was officially a new year. Nazz lied back on the thick blanket as she stared up at the firework filled sky. The stars seemed to sparkle behind them. The winter air was harsh, and a gentle snow was beginning to fall, but the warmth from blanket underneath her and her layers of clothes kept her feeling decent. She sighed through her nose and looked over at the redhead sitting next to her.

"You okay, Kev?" She asked.

Kevin was sitting with his knees up to his chin. He wore a look of distress that was making the blonde feel uneasy.

"Seriously, dude," Nazz said. "Answer me." She raised her hand up and tapped him.

Kevin flinched and looked over at her. "What?"

"You really didn't hear me talking to you?"

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "When were you talking to me?"

"Just now!"

"Oh... well, uh yeah I didn't hear you."

Nazz rolled over onto her side and pouted. "What's up with you lately? You're so... distant. I've tried to ignore it, but it's getting worse, and I'm more worried about you now than before."

Kevin licked dry, chapped lips, but remained silent. Nazz didn't bother anymore. The sound of snow crunching made her turn her head to see Rolf, Sarah, and Jimmy walking up.

"It's such a lovely view of the fireworks up here," Jimmy said.

Nazz smiled and scooted over to make room for him to sit on the blanket. Sarah squeezed in, too, and Nazz felt grateful that livelier people now accompanied her. She hated to admit it, but Kevin was being such a downer. It was ruining her cheerful spirit.

"Happy New Year, Nazz," Jimmy said as he wrapped his arms around her.

Nazz giggled and hugged him back. "Happy New Years, dude." She then hugged Sarah.

Rolf sat down next to Kevin. "Something the matter?"

"Hmm?" Kevin blinked and faced his friend. "I'm good."

"Where is the smart-Ed-boy?"

"He's celebrating with his friends." Kevin shrugged.

"And why is Kevin not there with him?"

"I... well, I thought I'd let him spend time alone with them."

"Maybe you should go join him," Nazz suggested. "And kiss him." She winked.

Kevin sighed. "I don't really care about that whole New Year's kiss crap."

Nazz and Sarah frowned.

"What's with him?" Sarah asked Nazz in a whisper.

"I don't know," Nazz whispered back. "He won't tell me anything."

"Well whatever's bothering him is bothering him big time."

"I know, and that scares me. I'm going to grow grey hair from worrying so much about him."

Sarah giggled and Nazz smiled, but her smile faded once she looked back over at Kevin and noticed just how ill he looked.

* * *

**Present.**

What was someone like Jake doing at a movie at eight PM on a Saturday night alone? Why not take friends? He might have be one who liked to be free from others every now and then. And that was just perfect. It was better if he was alone. The four teenagers would be the ones to outnumber him instead of the other way around.

The brunet bought his ticket and headed into the lobby to purchase snacks while Rolf and Ed followed quietly behind. Their role was to sit inside the movie theater and warn Eddy and Double D before Jake left. Then they would all meet up outside and surround him.

"So we really just have to sit out here while Rolf and Ed get to watch a movie?" Eddy asked, obviously annoyed by the plan.

Double D smiled at him. "Yes, Eddy. Oh, but those two will hardly pay any attention to the film. Their focus will be on Jake."

It was mostly Rolf who kept his eyes on the brunet while Ed munched on popcorn and laughed at practically every scene of the movie.

"Ed-boy," Rolf whispered to him. "A little less watching the picture and more watching the trouble-making-make-best-friend-Kevin-leave Jake boy, yes?"

Ed pouted a little, but he nodded and stared at Jake with squinty eyes. Rolf grinned in amusement before returning to watch the brunet as well.

"Do you think Rolf has a thing for Ed?" Eddy asked as he and Double D just sat on the bench outside.

Double D gently kicked a rock and looked over at his friend. "I don't think that is any of our business."

Eddy shrugged. "I'm just trying to make conversation. I'm bored. All we're doing is sitting here, waiting for the signal."

"Yes, I know. Therefore... yes, I do believe Rolf may harbor some feelings for Ed."

"I can see it happening, I guess." Eddy grinned. "I can also see Nazz and me happening."

"You and Nazz?"

"Yeah? What's wrong with that?"

"Oh, pardon me, Eddy. I always assumed you and Sarah would eventually-"

"No!" Eddy shook his head. "Don't even finish that sentence." He shivered and pretended to gag. "Sarah? Gross."

Edd sighed. "Sarah isn't the same way she was when we were kids. She has matured."

"To me, she'll always be my best friend's little twerp of a sister."

"Very well, then."

"So, ya think Nazz will ever be into me?" Eddy smiled sweetly.

Double D looked away. "Anything is possible, Eddy. Try speaking with her more often." He turned back and returned the smile.

Eddy groaned. "It's hard, sometimes, especially if we're alone. She's cute and I'm... I'm just me."

"And what is wrong with being just you? Eddy, I think you're absolutely great."

"I'm ugly."

"You are not ugly, Eddy. In fact, you were the reason I discovered I was attracted to the male gend..." Double D's eyes widened once he realized what he was admitting. "Oh... I meant... I-I..."

Eddy's grin returned. "Really?"

"W-well, you weren't ever supposed to know, but..." The sockhead sighed in defeat. "Yes."

"Good to know I was your first guy crush." Eddy nudged his friend who's cheeks were now redder than ever.

"Oh, please." Edd rolled his eyes and tried to hide his embarrassment, but it was useless.

Eddy stopped teasing and smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better."

Double D faced him, his cheeks still very red, but the corners of his lips rose slightly. "You're welcome."

The movie wasn't satisfying Jake, so the brunet ended up getting up halfway through and walked out. Rolf and Ed quickly followed behind. The son of a shepherd texted Double D to let him know.

Double D flinched a little at the beep from his phone. He showed Eddy the text message and the two got up.

"Oh, he also says Jake is heading for the back exit," Double D informed Eddy.

Eddy nodded and they started heading over there.

"Man, this is a stupid idea," Eddy began to whine, but the sockhead didn't bother listening. He was too concentrated on the task that was about to occur.

The closer they got, the faster his heart raced. Even his hands were beginning to shake.

_No, Eddward, _he thought to himself, _be strong. You must._

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Eddy mumbled.

They came to a halt as they came face-to-face with Jake. Jake furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked.

Double D sneered at him. "We are here because we know what you did to Kevin, Jake."

The brunet's expression softened. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop playing dumb," Eddy told him.

And Jake slowly grinned. "What? Are you guys trying to scare me or something? Did Kevin put you up to this? Was this what he was talking about?"

Double D blinked. "He spoke to you?"

Jake just laughed. "Okay, kids. Get out of my way." He tried pushing through them, but Edd pushed him back.

"You aren't going anywhere," Edd told him.

The brunet growled and Eddy could see him raising his fist up. Before Eddy could safe Double D, Jake's fist came in contact with the sockhead's face. The impact caused the sockhead to fall back unconscious, from what it seemed like.

"Your turn, shorty," Jake said to Eddy.

Eddy shrieked and brought his hands up to cover his face, but Rolf came right in time and grabbed Jake from behind. And that's when Kevin appeared. Eddy blinked twice and even rubbed his eyes, thinking he was just imagining things, but no. Kevin was really there. Eddy looked down at the knocked out Double D and leaned down to assist him.

The redhead punched Jake in the jaw, making the brunet lose his balance momentarily, but Rolf held him up. Rolf and Ed stared stunned at the sight of Kevin, but tried not losing concentration.

"Don't you dare hurt him again," Kevin said to Jake through clenched teeth.

Jake snarled at him. "You're not supposed to be here!" He shouted.

"I wasn't going to come, _until_ I heard about a certain plan going down tonight." Kevin looked at Rolf disapprovingly.

"It was for your honor, Casanova-Kevin boy," Rolf told him.

"Who told you about our secret, Kevin?" Ed asked.

"Nazz did. She was actually going to try and stop you, but I called her back and told her I'd handle it."

Jake started squirming around, trying to break free of Rolf's grip.

"Ah-ha!" Rolf smiled. "Rolf is too strong for you little weakling."

Kevin smirked in amusement. Man he missed Rolf.

"Get out of here, Kevin!" Jake growled. "Get out or I swear I'll make your boyfriend suffer."

Rolf squeezed his grip on Jake tighter for saying that and Jake groaned in pain.

Kevin gulped and stepped back. "Shut up. I'm leaving."

"No!" Ed shouted. "Don't leave. Double D will keep being sad. It hurts me to see him hurt. Kevin, please stay!" The tall teen ran over to Kevin and embraced him. "Stay for Double D!"

Kevin sighed.

Jake eventually grew tired of this and with all his strength, he threw his arm back, his elbow roughly hit Rolf's nose. Rolf let go of Jake to cover his nose with both his hands and hunched over, the pain almost unbearable.

"You're not allowed here anymore!" Jake yelled out, stepping closer to Kevin.

"Alright, just calm down and stay back," the redhead told him. He managed to get out of Ed's embrace. "Stay away from Edd," he told Jake. "I'll leave now." He quickly ran off, ignoring the protests coming from Rolf, Ed, and Eddy.

Eddy shook his head at Jake. "What the fuck did you do? Did you threaten him to get out of town?!"

"Shut up," Jake told him.

Eddy wanted to say more, but the brunet jogged out of there.

"Man, that asshole," Eddy mumbled.

Double D moved slightly and his eyes opened. Eddy looked over and gasped. Ed ran over to the sockhead's side and picked him up.

"Double D, are you okay?!" Ed asked.

Double D winced at the pain in his right eye, but he nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am."

"Kevin was here!"

Eddy's eyes widened. "Ed!" He shook his head.

Ed looked at Eddy and blinked. "What?"

"I don't know, just the fact that you just blurted it out like that."

Double D hopped off Ed's arms. "Where is he?!" He started looking around and that's when he noticed blood dripping from Rolf's nose. "Oh, dear! What happened here, exactly?! Why is Rolf bleeding? And where is Kevin?!" He furrowed his eyebrows. "If Kevin was here, where did he go, Ed?"

Ed looked down at his feet. "He left, Double D. I'm sorry."

Eddy sighed. "He left because Jake told him to! Dude, Sockhead. Kevin didn't just run away. He was kicked out of Peach Creek by Jake, and if he comes back, Jake's coming after you!"

Double D felt himself shiver all over. He stared horrifying at Eddy, eyes wide with tears forming, and lips parted. "Please, tell me that isn't true."

Eddy grabbed Double D's shoulders. "I'm sorry."

"N-no." Double D shook his head and stepped back. "That is not true. No!"

"May Rolf please ask for assistance?" Rolf said as he leaned against the brick wall.

Ed walked over to him and took off his jacket. He handed it to Rolf. "You can use it to cover your nose."

"Thank you, Ed-boy."

Eddy chewed on his lower lip as he watched the sockhead fall down on his knees. He started to shake a bit as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Why would Kevin be so... so stupid!" Double D shouted before burying his face in his hands. "No, no, no," he repeated over and over, shaking his head.

Eddy bent down in front of him and gently patted him on the back. "Double D... hey, he did it because he cares about you. He doesn't want to see you get hurt."

Double D looked up, revealing a wet face and red eyes. "Kevin does not care about me. If he truly did, he wouldn't have left! He would have discussed his problems to me just as any partner would! But why wouldn't _he_ speak to me, Eddy?! Why did he hide this from me?! Was I... was... I... w-was..." The sockhead swallowed hard, trying so hard to finish his sentence. "Was I not good enough for him to rely on?" He fell forward into Eddy's arms and sobbed into his friend's chest.

Ed began to silently cry from watching his dearest friend look so defeated. Rolf couldn't help but feel an ache in his chest from the sight as well. And Eddy just cradled Double D, just allowed him to cry, to get it all out of his system.


	13. Chapter thirteen

A/N: Okay, well, the Romeo and Juliet play fanfic will be my next one. Which I am kind of relieved about, because the Three's A Crowd sequel is going to be angsty, so it'll be a little break from writing sad stuff because, as you can see, this damn fic right here is all depressing lol.

But the sequel will be written after I finish Our Journey.

Yeah, this fanfic is nearing its end. There will be two more chapters (maybe).

I also posted a preview of the Romeo & Juliet fic, so if you'd like to read it, send me a message on tumblr.

* * *

Nazz had joined the others a few minutes after the breakdown and was disappointed to find Kevin had already left, and that Jake had gotten away. She had arrived too late, but what hurt more was the sight of an absolute broken Edd on the floor, wrapped in Eddy's arms. She wasn't sure whether to ask or assume when she pretty much knew the answer already. Kevin had come, he had left, and Edd was beyond hurt.

The blonde slowly approached the group. That's when she noticed Rolf was bleeding. She gasped quietly, covering her mouth in shock of the sight. Ed reassured her Rolf was okay, and she relaxed and nodded. She looked down at the two other Eds and sighed before bending down next to them. Eddy turned his head to face her.

"What did Jake do?" Nazz asked in a soft tone.

"Kicked Kevin back out of town," Eddy whispered.

Double D sniffled and pulled out of Eddy's embrace. He said nothing as he got up to his feet and simply walked away from them.

Just like that.

He did not say where he was going nor did he bother looking back at them. Ed and Eddy quickly followed him to make sure he was going straight home instead of elsewhere. They feared he would try and find Jake, and picking fights with the brunet was not the ideal thing anymore. Nazz stayed behind as Rolf explained to her everything that had happened.

And she was not surprised.

When Kevin had called her back to say how he would be coming to Peach Creek to handle the situation, she knew only trouble could come out of it, though she wanted to trust him. Perhaps he could fix the issue, but no. Of course Jake still used Kevin's weakness against him. He had no other way of fighting. Because _he _was the weak one. He wanted to put up a wall that made everyone see him as a threat, though Nazz knew he would never dare try and kill anyone. He just wouldn't.

She wouldn't challenge him, but if was ever really faced with the opportunity, he would step back.

Why else would he give Kevin the option to leave instead of just stabbing him to death? A real threat wouldn't have given anyone the chance to get away, but Jake did, and for that, Nazz understood now that the brunet was a phony.

And she wasn't afraid of him.

* * *

Returning back to the apartment, Kevin leaned against his bedroom door, his heart pounding in chest. He hunched over and tried regaining his breath. Edd had been lying on the floor when he had arrived, and he left seeing him in the exact position. He hadn't witnessed the aftermath, but he already knew something occurred. The redhead licked his lips and walked over to the phone. He had to make sure Edd was okay, even though he knew he wasn't.

It wouldn't do any harm to ask.

_Ring... ring... ring..._

"Hello?" Edd's voice wasn't the same. It had a sense of vulnerability in it, and it tugged at Kevin's heart strings to hear it.

"Hey, Edd," he managed to say.

The sockhead was curled up on his bed. It was pitch dark, practically, the only source of light came from the moon, and that was hardly any.

"Why are you calling me, Kevin?" He asked. "Why even bother?"

"I wanted to make you're okay."

"And why do you care?"

"Because... I just do, and I know what happened tonight probably tore you apart, and that's why I have to tell you that..." Kevin gulped and took a deep breath. He had to say it. Edd had to let him go once and for all. So, the redhead wiped his sweaty palm on his jeans and said it, "Edd, I don't think I'm coming back any time soon. Do yourself a favor, and just forget about me. You're better off if you don't wait around anymore-"

"And you assume it's that simple?" Double D rolled his eyes and sat up. "I'll have you know, Kevin, just how difficult that would be. You have no idea, no idea _at all_, how much you mean to me-" He brought his hand up to cover his mouth as he felt him choking up. He didn't want Kevin to hear him cry. Why should he?

Kevin didn't even deserve to know how much he was hurting, but the sobs weren't silenced. They couldn't be stopped, and the redhead could hear it, and it stung, worse than anything had ever.

It hurt because he knew he was the cause of that pain.

It hurt because the last thing he ever wanted was to let Edd down.

It hurt because he was hurting himself from how much he truly missed Edd, how much he wanted to be there, holding him and telling him that everything was going to be okay.

That he could stop crying, that there was no need to cry.

But knowing he was not able to do so, he slowly sat down on the edge of his bed and clenched his teeth as he felt his eyes water. The tears were quick to blur his vision and he wanted to scream and swear at his bedroom wall... his bedroom? No. This wasn't _his _bedroom. This was a place, a strange place. This wasn't home.

Home was where his parents were, where his friends were, where Edd was.

And realizing that, the tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheeks all at once as he struggled not to have a breakdown. It had been so long since he had last cried.

* * *

**March 20, 2013**

Kevin lied on his back on his bed as he just stared up at the ceiling. He sniffled and roughly wiped the tears from his face with the back of his hand. His breath was shaky and he couldn't stop crying, but he didn't even care. He would allow himself to have this moment just once. He just needed to let it out of his system.

Kevin was just tired.

His friends didn't want to be around him, not with his behavior lately. He knew he had been acting up and paranoid, even bursting into fits of anger over the smallest things. He was never the patient one, but he also never had _that _much anger in him. And he knew it had frightened most of his friends away. They no longer felt comfortable around him. Nothing was funny anymore and he wasn't even cool.

He was just a Kevin they didn't know.

A Kevin with a secret that he wouldn't tell, but that secret was tearing into his life, slowly ruining it. He just couldn't see it. He didn't _want_ to see it. To him, everything was fine, and his friends were leaving because they were just sick and tired of him. That wasn't the case, but of course, that's just how he viewed it with his drug-influenced mind.

The redhead took a deep shaky breath, trying to calm his tears, but it didn't work. He grabbed something from underneath his pillow—a storage bag filled with marijuana. He started to fiddle with it, trying to get it open, but somehow, it was a difficult task. He couldn't concentrate quite well.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" He asked myself. "Why doesn't anyone fucking like me anymore! God damnit!" Kevin threw the bag across the room and watched as it hit the wall before falling flat on the floor.

He started taking quick breathes before grabbing his pillow and burying his face in it as he screamed.

He wanted to block out the voice in his head that was shouting at him about what a mess he had become, what a failure he was.

Because no.

No.

No.

No.

He was fine. Of course he was fine! Edd was still speaking to him, and if Edd wasn't speaking to him, then he would know something was wrong. Sometimes friends just grew tired of each other. It happened. It was an awful thing, but it did happen. Kevin never thought it would happen to him, though. There had to be a reason for it. Deep down, he knew the reason.

_You're a piece of shit, Kevin,_ he thought to himself, _just accept it. You know there's something wrong with you. You know there is. Just open your eyes and see it already. Maybe Jake should just kill you, take you out of this misery. _

The redhead squeezed his eyes shut as he felt himself wanting to sob more. He wanted to cry and cry and never stop. Crying gave him a brief moment of relief, but also made his heart ache and he couldn't decide whether he enjoyed it or not. And in that moment, Jake's words from two days earlier came to mind.

_"Let's make a deal," the brunet said._

_Kevin squinted his eyes and crossed his arms. "What kind of deal?"_

_"You don't have to pay me, if..." Jake smirked as he slowly looked away._

_"If what?" The redhead said through clenched teeth._

_Jake faced him again. "If you leave."_

_"Leave?"_

_"Get out of Peach Creek and __**don't **__come back, but if you do, I'll make sure your boyfriend pays for it."_

_Kevin's eyes widened. Jake was actually serious. Kevin looked around to see if anyone was listening, but the school yard was completely empty by now. Everyone with practice had gone home. It was just him and Jake. He swallowed the lump in his throat._

_Seeing Kevin was having trouble deciding, Jake sighed. "Fine, I'll be even nicer and give you more time to think about it, alright? Give me your answer on Friday, or else." And with that, Jake walked off. _

It was Wednesday, and seeing how almost no one seemed to care anymore, he already knew his answer for Jake. He would leave behind the terrible life he had created, allow everyone a break from having to deal with him, and everything would be okay.

He was sure of it.

* * *

**Present.**

Kevin sniffled and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Edd. I really am."

Edd wrinkled up his nose and furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that all you have to say?"

The redhead opened his mouth, but words failed him. Was it all he had to say? He had plenty more he wanted to say, but he would say none of it.

"Yes," he answered, and Double D hung up.

Kevin dropped the phone and let himself fall back on the bed. He knew he shouldn't be so difficult with Edd, but he still was anyway. And that was why he felt it was better for the sockhead to let him go. It wasn't easy, he understood that. He would have to do some letting go as well, and just the thought it pained him. It was the decision he had made, though. For Edd's safety.

Double D wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry over what Kevin had said. Did he really expect Double D to go through with it? If he truly did, then the sockhead wanted to laugh from how ridiculous it actually was. Just to tell someone to let go was preposterous and useless. It wouldn't work, especially if the person was incapable of doing so.

He sighed and tossed his cell phone aside as he got off his bed and walked over to his bedroom window. Kevin's house across from his appeared so lonely, so quiet... so empty. And Double D just couldn't understand why the redhead wouldn't attempt to find a way of being able to return home and stay without any harm.

He did know he could simply call the police, ask them for help, get Jake arrested, but somehow, he had a feeling that would only bring more trouble. He was worried of the consequences, but even doing nothing about the situation had consequences. There was consequences to everything. And that was just unfair.

* * *

**March 21, 2013**

"Kevin!" Double D shouted as he followed the redhead up the stairs. "You cannot just ignore me! I am trying to get through to you."

Kevin groaned and rolled his eyes. "That's the problem, Edd," he mumbled. "You think you can help, but you can't. So, just leave me alone." He opened the door to his bedroom, but before he could slam it shut, Edd made his way in.

"Give me a chance to understand you, Kevin," Edd urged, the wide stare in his eyes begging Kevin. "Why will you not let me in?"

The redhead remained silent as he stared at the wall, trying to come up with the right way to say that he appreciated Double D's concern, but he did not want to talk about it. He wanted to say that he loved him, that he would miss him without really saying it, and that he was the most important person to him, but none of the ways he came up with in his mind seemed right. They weren't perfect. He _needed_ this to be perfect.

Kevin turned around to look at Double D and sighed in defeat as he stared at that face.

The face he had grown used to seeing everyday, the one that made everything feel okay, that made him feel comfortable, and safe even when he wasn't. It was the face he had come to fall in love with, and love was never something he thought he could experience. It was that one face that would show him when he was doing the wrong thing, because it would have the expression of disappointment, just as it did at that moment.

Kevin swallowed hard and licked his lips as he faced the ground. "If I tell you, Edd... you wouldn't think of me the same way anymore."

"Kevin..." Edd sighed softly. "You have done so many things in the past. You have been cruel, selfish, and careless, yet I have never thought any less of you. Whatever you are hiding, I am sure it will not change how I feel about you."

It was what Kevin wanted to hear, but he didn't believe it. No. He had screwed up worst than ever.

"No, Edd," he said. "This is different-"

"How different?"

"It just _is, _okay?"

"Oh, Kevin." Edd furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "That is the one problem with you. When you do not wish to speak about something, you have to get angry until you completely shut everyone out and they leave you alone. Well I will not leave you alone!"

Kevin growled and stepped up to the sockhead. "Oh, you better leave now."

"And if I don't?"

Kevin's expression softened at the question. He would do nothing. He could not dare try to hurt Edd. Why would he want to do that? He would never forgive himself for it.

"I don't know," he said with a shrug.

"Kevin-"

"Just leave, Edd." Kevin turned away from him. "I'm just not in the mood right now." But Edd wouldn't move. "Please, babe. Just... I need to be alone right now."

"But I want to be here with you."

The redhead could feel his eyes watering. _Fuck._ He squeezed them shut, holding back in the tears before turning around again. He cupped Edd's sweet face and leaned in, their lips meeting softly and slowly. Double D held onto Kevin's wrist as he felt a tongue tracing his lower lip. He opened his mouth slightly, allowing the redhead the entrance he was asking for.

One moment, Kevin appeared to be afraid and angry, wanting Edd to get the hell out of his way, and the next, he was kissing him, so passionately, making the sockhead feel wanted. And it made Edd conflicted. He didn't know whether to believe that whatever Kevin was going through was really just minor, or something worse.

"I'll be fine," Kevin whispered when he pulled away from the kiss. "I'll talk to you tomorrow at school."

Double D sighed. He would believe it for now, although he had been believing it for months. "Very well," he said, but he didn't leave before embracing Kevin tightly.

Kevin smiled at the feel of lanky arms wrapped around him. He kissed the side of Double D's head and watched as Double D exited the bedroom. He stood still, listening to the footsteps walk down the stairs, and when he heard the front door open and close, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

And the next day, right after school, he left.


	14. Chapter fourteen

A/N: I'm aware this chapter is short, but it's only to build up for the final chapter.

Song of the chapter: "The Way Down" by The White Tie Affair.

* * *

"Why didn't we call the police the second we found out it was Jake?" Sarah asked Nazz as the two of them slowly swung on the swings in the Peach Creek park.

It was just the next day and since Sarah was the first person Nazz saw, the blonde started talking to her.

"Because Kevin told me if I did," she began to explain, "Jake might get his friends to hurt us."

"You and Double D?"

Nazz nodded and sighed. "But I'll take the risk. I know Jake and his creep drug-addict friends won't do anything to us. They're too afraid to actually try anything."

"I kind of feel the same. They just want to look intimidating, but given the chance-"

"They wouldn't do anything," they both said in unison.

"Yeah, exactly," Nazz nodded. "So, what do you think? Anonymous tip?"

Sarah grinned and the blonde took out her cell phone and dialed.

And it was around half an hour later when the Peach Creek police arrived at Jake's house.

"We received a tip of possession of illegal drugs in this residence," one of the officers said.

Jake was on the couch in the living room. He froze still in his spot as he watched the officers enter his home and begin to search around. His mother allowed them too, for she had no reason to believe there were any such things in the house.

"Are you Jake?" The first officer, officer Jimmy, asked the brunet.

Jake gulped and just stared at the older man, his eyes wide with regret and fear. That was enough to answer officer Jimmy's question.

"I'm going to need you to stay there," Jimmy told him. "Just until we're done here." He offered the teen a gentle smile.

Jake took in a shaky breath, and nodded slowly. He dared not move a muscle, but once he saw the other officer walk up the stairs, he cursed under his breath. The second officer opened the door to Jake's bedroom, Jake's mother following behind.

"There isn't anything here," his mother informed the officer. "I'm sure of it."

"Ma'am, even if that's true, I still have to look." The man searched around every corner until he came across a safe. He tapped its door. "Did you know this was here?"

Jake's mother furrowed her eyebrows. "No, I really didn't."

And inside lied the filth. The officer pulled out the many bags. He wasn't surprised at all when he heard gasps and repetitive no's. The poor mother had no clue of her own son's dirty secret, and the officer turned her with an apologetic look as he said, "I have to take him in."

Nazz and Sarah were not too far away, watching the whole thing with proud smiles on their faces as they saw the brunet being handcuffed and put into the back of the car. It was happening. He was getting what he deserved. The two girls could see the police holding a box. One of them the cops took out a bag that seemed to contain almost a hundred pills, then another that had cocaine. They whispered something to each other before walking over to Jake's crying mother.

"No!" His mother shook her head, sobbing almost uncontrollably. Her voice was audible enough for the girls to hear clearly. "Don't take him from me! He's my son! No!"

Officer Jimmy held her back as she attempted to run to the car. "Ma'am, please! I apologize for this, but we have to do what we have to do."

"Your son was involved with something very dangerous," the other officer said.

The girls leaned forward a little to hear better.

"And it looks like he's been doing this for much too long," Jimmy said. "We're very sorry." And with that, the two officers got into their cars and drove off.

"They got him," Sarah said. "He's gone."

Although feeling sorrow for his mother, Nazz grinned and raised her hand. "High five."

Sarah clapped her hand against Nazz's. "Now his other scumbag friends are going to get it."

"Do you know where they live?"

Sarah scoffed. "I barely knew their names."

"Guess we'll just have to stop here then."

"Do we tell Double D? Or Kevin?"

Just hearing that question made Nazz's heart tingle. Kevin can come home... He can come back. He can come back and Double D would feel better, and things would go back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get. But normal. The cul-de-sac gang would be reunited. Harm was out of the way.

Finally.

The blonde sighed in relief and nodded.

"Definitely," she said. "Let's start with Edd."

* * *

"This is exactly what you need," Eddy said as he passed the bottle of whiskey to Double D.

Double D looked at what was being handed to him and made face of disgust as he wrinkled up his nose and turned away. The front door being unlocked, Nazz and Sarah entered the sockhead's home without warning. Seeing Eddy holding the bottle up to Double D made the girls cross their arms and narrow their eyes at him.

"Seriously, Eddy?" Sarah asked, shaking her head. "You wanna get poor Double D wasted? Do you _really_ think that's a good idea?"

"Eddy, you know better," Nazz added.

The pudgy teen rolled his eyes and put the whiskey down.

"I was not even planning on accepting the drink," Double D told them.

Ed grabbed it and happily drank a gulp, oblivious to the fact that his little sister was watching him horrifyingly. Sarah groaned and walked over to him, snatching the bottle away.

"Aw, Sarah!" Ed pouted. "You never let me do anything fun."

"This," Sarah said, holding up the alcohol, "isn't fun, Ed!" She rolled her eyes and looked at Nazz, giving her the signal to begin.

Nazz couldn't resist the smile forming on her face. She didn't even where to start or how to say it. This was huge news, very huge-

"Hey, Jake's on the news," Eddy said.

Nazz raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder to see that he was indeed right. "Oh my god."

"What!" Double D sat up quickly and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

They all huddled around the television and listened as the reporter explained how the Peach Creek police department had received an anonymous tip that seventeen year old Jake Foreman was holding not one, but numerous types of illegal substances in his home.

"The teen has been taken into custody along with two other teens who were involved with his little business," the lady explained. "Mrs. Foreman who had no idea of this said that she is very ashamed that her son would even do this. She says she thought she raised him right and wonders where she went wrong. Of course none of the blame is on her. Sometimes our children get out of hand. In other news-" Double D muted the TV and sat still for a moment, trying to contemplate everything he had just heard.

They were all silent, the three Eds trying to figure out if it was actually true. Was it true? Of course it was. Jake was captured, and even better, so were his partners. But it had happened so fast that they needed a moment to take it in.

"That's why we came here," Nazz spoke softly. "We were the ones who called."

Edd looked up at the blonde, his eyes becoming glassy. "Thank you," he uttered before jumping up and taking her into a tight embrace.

The corners of Nazz's lips slowly rose as she held him back. Sarah sat down next to Eddy and smiled at the sight of the two hugging. It was a breath of fresh air, weight lifted off their shoulders. They had all felt like prisoners even though Jake hadn't even threatened them, but threatening one of them was enough. And now, it was as if they had broken free. Free at last.

Nazz took a deep breath and squeezed Edd a little tighter. "Kevin told me if I did this something would happen to us. That's why I made sure to let the police know that they also check Jake's friends. Nothing will happen to us. We're fine." Her vision began to blur. She tightly blinked away the tears and sighed. "And Kevin can return."

And that made Edd more than relieved to hear. Although his last conversations with the redhead hadn't been the greatest, that didn't change the fact that he still missed and loved him, whether they were together or not. Kevin had made it seem as though he would never return, that he was forever gone from his past life, but no. It was all over now.

Forever had been long enough.

And they all needed him to come back home.

The mess was over.


	15. Chapter fifteen

A/N: I really like Logan. I think he's my favorite OC. I just really love the name Logan and the way I wrote him here, so you might see him in future fanfics and stuff because I like him. He also kind of reminds me of a male version of myself. Jake is my other OC, so if I ever need a bad guy in a fic, he will be return. LOL he probably won't be as bad as he was in this one.

And anyways! Here it is, the final chapter. Hope you enjoy. I'm always nervous about final chapters.

* * *

It was just passed three in the afternoon when Logan decided a movie, pizza, and beer would be a good idea, and Kevin immediately agreed. The pizza had arrived, the beer was chilled, and the movie Insidious was now playing. Horror movies were Kevin's favorite, and he was overjoyed to find out they were also Logan's. They munched on pepperoni with sausage and green papers, also both their preference, and sat back as they watched the story in the movie unfold.

"You know," Logan said, "If I had a kid and he suspiciously went into a coma, I would automatically call a freaking paranormal investigator because that's just not normal." He shook his head and sighed. "But the skeptical people are the ones always looking for trouble."

Kevin squinted his eyes. "I'm skeptical."

Logan raised his eyebrows and looked over at the redhead. "Really?"

A nod in response.

"So you really think there isn't anything supernatural out there?"

Kevin shrugged. "If there is or isn't, I could really care less."

Logan grinned lopsidedly as he grabbed his beer and held it up to his lips. "Yeah, well then don't come crying to me when a demon possesses you."

The redhead laughed and took another bite of his slice of pizza. "Good one."

"Hey, I'm just saying, never doubt anything. I think anything can be possible."

"Even the bad things, like demons?"

"I hope not, but..." the ravenet shrugged. "Gotta keep an open mind."

Kevin thought about this and nodded. "I guess so." He then smirked. "I'm still skeptical."

Logan chuckled. "Of course you are."

They fell into silence as they tried indulging themselves more into the movie. They were more than halfway in when the phone rang. The two males stared at it, unsure whether they even wanted to bother with it. Eventually, Kevin gave in and answered it.

"Hello?" He tried not to be so long as to allow Logan to still listen to the movie.

"Hey, Kev, it's me Nazz," the blonde said. She was practically jumping up and down, anxious to tell the redhead what had happened.

"Nazz, hey. What's up?"

"Oh my god. I don't even know how to say this," she squeaked.

Kevin furrowed his eyebrows. "Good news? Damn, tell me. It's been a while since I've heard any of that."

"What?" Logan asked in a whisper. "Me getting a job wasn't good enough news for you?"

Kevin grinned at him, but said nothing as he listened to Nazz.

"Jake and his drug dealer friends are in jail," Nazz told him.

The redhead's grin faded as his eyes widened. Logan noticed this and tilted his head, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Really?" Kevin asked. "You called?"

"Anonymous tip," Nazz explained. "I don't care what you said, Kevin. He deserved to be captured. I wasn't going to let him get away with taking you away from us." The blonde smiled wide. "Now you can come home!" Her voice was high and pitched, indicating just how excited she was.

The corners of Kevin's lips slowly rose as he came to the conclusion that he was no longer banned from Peach Creek. He was going to be okay.

But...

He looked over at Logan who was still staring at him, waiting for an answer. The time he had spent with the ravent had been, well different. A good kind of different. In the apartment, he had almost all the freedom he could ever ask for. The only rule was to remember to lock the door. And that was much better than having an, what always seemed like, an endless list of rules from his parents.

If he went back, his parents would be happy for a day, then they would get over it and it was back to obeying this and that. It was back to being ignored. At least Logan never ignored him. But Kevin had to admit, returning to the cul-de-sac would mean returning to all of his friends who also didn't ignore him, who honestly did care about him. That sounded nice, but also living with Logan was nice.

"Kevin?" Nazz's voice brought his focus back. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kevin said, nodding even though she couldn't see him. "I am. I... wow, that's great. I'm glad the fucker is locked up like the animal he is."

"Me too. So, when are you coming home?"

Kevin pursed his lips. "As soon as possible," he said hesitatingly. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to go home anymore. "Talk to you later, Nazz." He didn't wait for her to respond.

Nazz furrowed her eyebrows at the fact that he hung up on her. She was expecting a more elated attitude, but it was as if he didn't care. That was preposterous, though. Of course he cared. She was sure he wanted to home just as much as they wanted him home... right?

Kevin licked his lips and grabbed his beer, taking a large sip, knowing very well Logan had paused the movie long ago and was still staring at him with his big brown eyes.

"Okay, man, I'll tell you," the redhead said as he put down the can. "Jake and his friends are in jail. I can come home."

Logan smiled softly. "Well, that's awesome then! Why aren't we more excited?"

Kevin shook his head. "Because back home is where I get treated like a little kid."

"But it's also where your friends and boyfriend are."

"Boyfriend." Kevin snickered. "I'm not sure I have one anymore."

"Well you guys had your problems, but he'll forgive you."

"I don't know, man."

Logan smirked and sat up. "If your relationship was how you described it to me, then yeah he actually will forgive you, because he cares about you, and you care about him. Two people who care that much for each other won't give up that easily." He raised an eyebrow and stared at Kevin as if examining his face. "You're not a quitter, are you?"

Kevin blinked and looked away from Logan as he started to think about it. Was he a quitter? Running away from home pretty much made him feel like one, but was he really one? Was he really going to leave behind everything...

Could he?

* * *

**June 20, 2008**

"Over here, Rolf!" Nazz shouted out to the blue-haired teen, jumping up and down, holding up her hands.

Rolf looked at the small ball in his hand before smiling at the blonde and tossing it over to Kevin instead. Nazz crossed her arms and pouted. Kevin caught the ball with one hand and laughed.

"That wasn't cool, Rolf," the blonde told the son of a shepherd. "Dude, I was going to hide that from Kevin."

"Even if you did I wouldn't have cared," Kevin told her.

She scoffed and he grinned.

"Nice try, though," he added, and Nazz smiled softly.

"Thanks, Kev."

"Ah-ha," Rolf said as he made his way up to them. He took the ball from Kevin. "Rolf asks for a game of, how you call, catch?"

Kevin nodded. "Sure." He got off his bike and made his way to his front lawn while Nazz stood near Eddy's lawn and Rolf stood in front of Edd's.

The three decided each time they finished a round, they would step backwards, hopefully adding some sort of challenge to the simple game. But even playing catch was entertaining to them. They could always find the fun in anything, it was almost lucky. Rolf tossed the ball over to Kevin, he tossed it to Nazz who then returned it to Rolf, and so on.

They went at it for a few more times until they were interrupted by the Eds.

"Hello fellow friends of the cul-de-sac," Eddy said as he sauntered his way to the middle of their triangle.

"Oh great," Kevin mumbled.

"Step up to our clothing-store-on-wheels! Everything is two, that's right, _two _for only twenty-five cents! You won't get a great deal like that anywhere else!"

Ed and Double D followed behind, pushing a cart with a racket of poorly sewn articles of clothing. They parked the cart and smiled at the others. Ed's smile was genuine while Double D's seemed forced, awkward, and nervous, noting how he obviously wished to be anywhere but there. Nazz and Rolf stepped up to their little "store" and began rummaging through the clothes.

Eddy grinned in satisfaction until he noticed Kevin was not interested. "Hey, shovel chin!" He clapped. "I got something that'll be _perfect_ for you!" The pudgy teen grabbed a random shirt and yanked it out. He held it up to Kevin's chest and wiggled his eyebrows. "That'll surely get the ladies talkin'! And man, haven't ya heard? Turtlenecks are out of style! You should be thanking us for saving you!"

Kevin growled and snatched the shirt away. "Did you make this out of curtains?!" He said, wrinkling it with his tight grip.

Nazz and Rolf looked over at it, then back at the rest.

"Hey," Nazz said, picking up another. "This one's made out of bed sheets."

"My nana can make better cover ups using the hair that grows on her back!" Rolf announced. Nazz cringed at the thought.

Ed laughed and asked how, but Nazz begged Rolf not to explain.

Double D sighed. "Oh, dear." But he wasn't even surprised.

Eddy furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you all complaining?! We were creative! And if it looks bad, blame Sockhead!"

Double D's eyes widened as he gasped. "Excuse me, Eddy! If you hadn't rushed me, I would have taken my time and properly stitched together each piece!"

"You're the one who promised to have them ready by today! I gave you two days!"

"Eddy! This sort of procedure takes time!"

"I've seen my grandma knit scarves faster than you sow."

"I am offended!" Double D put his hands on his hips as he turned his head away.

"Yeah, so am I." Eddy crossed his arms and turned his head away, too.

Kevin, Rolf, and Nazz shook their heads.

"Come on," Kevin said, "Let's go watch TV or something."

The three of them headed into Kevin's house, ignoring Eddy who was begging to come back and reconsider buying something.

"Poor Eddy," Nazz said as they entered the house and made their way onto the couch. "He really tries."

Kevin and Rolf laughed.

"No, he doesn't," the redhead said. "That's his problem. If he actually did try, he would have something decent to sell us."

"Rolf must agree with Casanova-Kevin boy. The Eddy-boy does not use the brain of his." Rolf pointed to his head and Kevin laughed even more.

Nazz smiled, but shook her head. "Well, I feel sorry for Double D. He gets stuck doing all the work."

"Nah, he's fine," Kevin said. "If it really bothered him, the dude would have left by now."

"Yes," Rolf said with a nod. "The double-the-Ed-boy is very smart. He does use the brain of his. Never worry of him." And he and Kevin laughed again.

Nazz sighed. "Oh, you guys." But she joined in their laughter.

* * *

**Present.**

It had been a few days since he received the news of Jake being arrested.

Kevin spent those days mostly reminiscing about the many other times he spent with Rolf and Nazz during their middle school years. They were practically inseparable then. It was a wonderful, much more easier time. Growing up had to make everything so very difficult. It was a shame because he remembered just how badly he wanted to be an adult. Now he just wanted to be twelve again.

But he decided that mentally whining about how horrible it was growing up wasn't going to change anything that had happened.

Becoming a teenager did have its advantages.

* * *

**September 22, 2011**

Kevin slammed his locker shut and turned around, running right into someone, causing the both of them to drop their stuff.

"God damnit," the redhead mumbled under his breath, but sighed in relief when he saw it was just Edd. "Dude, you scared me. I didn't see you there."

"My apologies, Kevin," Edd said as bent down to gather his things.

Kevin did the same. Since they had entered high school, the two of them had been getting along a little better than before. They weren't exactly friends, but they did talk much more. Kevin came to find that the sockhead wasn't all that bad. He still had trouble trying to get along with Eddy because of his loud mouth and Ed because the tall teen would never make sense to him with all his monster movie and comic talk.

But Double D was most _normal_ out of the three and Kevin found it easier to talk to him. They had shared some classes in the past, were partnered up in some projects, and got along from that. Sometimes Kevin preferred not being near Double D, though. He found he felt funny around him. It was difficult to explain. He just always had this nervous feeling lingering inside him that he couldn't understand.

Why would Double Dweeb make him nervous?

An answer would come to him after thinking it over from time to time, but he immediately dismissed it as ridiculous. He figured he just felt intimidated because Double D was obviously way more intelligent than he was.

It made sense, so he never worried too much about it.

After retrieving their things, they stood up and smiled awkwardly at each other as they were enveloped in silence. And it made Kevin feel comfortable. He wondered if Double D was thinking anything, and then he wondered why he even cared.

"Uh, so," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I'll see you around."

Edd nodded. "Yes, I must go now, anyways. Ed and Eddy are most likely waiting for me."

"Y-yeah." Kevin smirked. "I have friends waiting for me, too."

"Ah yes, of course. Have a nice evening, Kevin." Edd flashed him a soft smile before turning around and heading quickly down the hall.

The redhead watched him without even noticing he was actually watching. He sighed once Edd was out of sight.

And there was that feeling again, growing in the pit of his stomach. Why did it keep returning? He groaned and shook his head.

* * *

**Present.**

Kevin stood up from his bed.

Edd.

He really wanted to see that sockhead. He wanted to see the gap-toothed smile, hear the gentle giggle of his, and hold him tightly, inhale his sweet scent. And he didn't even have to debate it anymore, he wanted to go home. He _was_ going to go home. He _needed _to. Though he would miss his second little home and Logan, he knew one day he would have the chance to properly live out on his own when he was truly ready.

And so, the redhead made his way into the living where Logan sat with his laptop on the coffee table as he typed something on it.

"Hey," Kevin greeted him.

The ravent looked up and smiled. "I know that look. You're going home."

Kevin raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"I knew you wouldn't stay, and I'm not upset that you don't wanna. I really do think it's better that you go back. It's your home, your real home."

Kevin smirked. "It is." He sat down next to Logan and sighed. "But thanks, man, for everything. I'll keep in touch."

Logan nodded and held out his hand. "You're welcome here anytime."

The redhead shook his hand. "Good to know." He grinned.

Back at the cul-de-sac, the gang sat in confusion in Nazz's living room, wondering why they hadn't heard a word from Kevin. They were sure he would have been back by now. Nazz assumed he would have returned that very same day she informed him of the news.

"Maybe he doesn't want to come home," Jonny said to Rolf.

"Rolf wonders why you say some of things you say, Jonny-boy," Rolf told him as he patted his head.

"Yeah, Jonny," Nazz said. "That's silly. Kevin does want to come home."

"Then why isn't he home yet?" Double D asked, the disappointment clear in his eyes. "Why will he not come home to us?"

Eddy frowned and sighed. "He's just... taking his time, or something," he mumbled.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "He'll come home, Double D. Don't worry anymore."

Ed wrapped his arm around the sockhead. "Please don't be sad, Double D. It breaks my heart."

That managed to make Double D smile. He patted Ed's hand and faced him. "Oh, I'm alright, Ed. Perhaps Kevin is merely taking his time."

"Well he better hurry up," Nazz mumbled as she slumped back into her seat and crossed her arms.

Nobody would admit it, but they were all wondering if what Nazz said was true. Maybe Kevin _didn't _want to come home. He got a taste of another drug, freedom, and he probably liked it a little too much. But they didn't want to bring it up, they didn't want to think about it. It wasn't a sure thing. They weren't going to make assumptions.

And it was the next day after school when Nazz was standing at her locker with Sarah and Jimmy that they received their answer.

"I'm finding it hard to stay concentrated on anything," the blonde said to the two freshmen, "Especially trying to study for final exams. All I keep thinking about is Kevin and where the hell is he, and why the hell hasn't said anything to us." She shook her head and rolled her eyes at the thought, but then she noticed the looks on Sarah and Jimmy's faces.

Their eyes were and their lips were parted. They seemed as though they had just seen a ghost, and Nazz realized they were staring at someone behind her. She hesitated at first, almost expecting to find Jake there, but once her eyes fell upon a redhead wearing a baseball cap, she gasped. Kevin grinned at her reaction.

"Oh my god," Nazz said breathlessly. "Y-you... you're... how... why didn't you... oh my god."

Kevin shrugged. "I don't know, Nazz. Just hug me." He looked over at Sarah and Jimmy and smiled softly. "You guys too."

Nazz squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck while Sarah and Jimmy embraced him as well. Kevin tried his best to wrap his arms all around them. They stood there, hugging each other, hearing others gasp and whisper amongst themselves, stunned to see Kevin there when it had felt as if though they'd never see him again.

"You idiot," Nazz said when she finally pulled away from the hug, along with the other two. She punched Kevin's shoulder and scrunched up her nose.

"Hey!" Kevin furrowed his eyebrows as he rubbed his arm. "What was that for?"

"For scaring me," she said. "I thought you weren't coming back."

"And this is for leaving in the first place," Sarah said, before punching Kevin's other arm.

"Man, you two are stronger than you look." Kevin sighed. "I'll admit, I almost didn't."

Nazz and Sarah both punched him again. Jimmy laughed as he heard Kevin utter an "Ow."

"You almost didn't?" Nazz squinted her eyes. "Why not?!"

"I just liked it over there," Kevin told her. "But I couldn't stay away from you-"

Sarah slapped her hand against Kevin's mouth. "Yeah, yeah. We get it."

"Oh, Kevin," Jimmy said, shaking his head. "I'm disappointed you actually considered it."

"Yeah, me too," Nazz told him.

Kevin gently moved Sarah's hand away. "I'm disappointed in myself, too."

"Well, we can argue about it later," Nazz said. "Right now, you have someone you need to go talk to."

The redhead smiled a little and nodded. "You're right. I do."

* * *

Edd yawned quietly and stretched up his arms in the air. He had arrived at the library, but the long day of education had exhausted him, especially with how much was on his mind. He rubbed his eyes and looked back down at his textbook as he resumed his reading. Studying in the library was very much relaxing to him. There were no distractions. None at all. He liked it. Of course at home, in his bedroom was pretty much the same, but at least here there were others around, making him feel a little less lonely even if he didn't speak to them.

Kevin entered the library and halted in his tracks when he spotted the sockhead across the room, his back to him. A smile tugged the corners of his lips up crookedly. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and walked up to Edd's seat. Peeking over the teen's shoulder, the redhead smirked and rolled his eyes to see what Edd was looking at.

"You're reading your physics textbook?" The sound of the voice made Double D flinch and look up instantly. Kevin went on, "Really, Edd? What a dork."

Double D's jaw slowly fell open. He tried to speak, but no words would come out. Was this real? No, it was. He was sure of it, yet he couldn't bring himself to believe Kevin was actually standing there.

"You okay?" Kevin asked. "You look like you're gonna be sick." He grinned.

Yes, it was true. Kevin was there. Double D practically jumped out of his seat. He wasn't sure what he should even do, but a hug wouldn't hurt. Kevin pulled him into a tight embrace before Double D could even try to do so first.

"Kevin!" Double D finally found his voice as he squeezed the redhead. "Oh, how I've missed you!"

The librarian looked up from her desk and hissed out a 'shh', in which Edd blatantly ignore, but Kevin whispered into Edd's ear about how they should leave. Completely forgetting why he even went to the library, Edd nodded in agreement.

* * *

The two walked back to the cul-de-sac. They hardly said a word to each other, but they both had the expressions of overly excited kids on their faces. They were finally together again, and though they knew they had things to discuss, Edd and Kevin decided to leave it for later. What mattered was letting everyone else know of Kevin's return.

Rolf was in his front lawn, listening to some nonsense Jonny was telling him about something Plank supposedly did while Nazz, Sarah, and Jimmy were lounging around Nazz's front lawn. The three looked up and waved at Kevin. The redhead waved back before looking over at Rolf and Jonny. They hadn't seen him at all yet, and he suddenly felt some sort of butterflies in his stomach over their reactions in seeing him.

"Ya had to be there, Rolf!" Jonny said as he finished his sentence.

Rolf nodded. "Yes. Rolf agrees. That is something to be there for."

"Hey guys," Kevin said as he walked up to them.

Rolf and Jonny turned to see Kevin grinning at them.

"Casanova Kevin, my boy!" Rolf shouted excitedly before grabbing Kevin and hugging him tightly, patting his back roughly as he did so.

Kevin smiled. He truly missed the son of a shepherd. "Hey Rolf." He pulled away and looked over at Jonny. "Sup, Jonny. How's Plank?"

"How's Plank?" Jonny shook his head. "He's fine, silly! How are _you_?!"

"Oh, I'm awesome." Kevin turned back to see Edd staring at him, and those eyes of him spoke to him. They wondered where they stood in a relationship. Were they even still together? Was it over?

Kevin patted Jonny's shoulder before walking off and joining the sockhead's side. "I know what you're thinking," he said.

Double D sighed softly through his nose and looked down, not daring to make eye-contact if they were going to have that conversation.

"I know I screwed up," Kevin began. "Running away, the phone calls... everything. I shoulda known better, I know that now." He looked around, trying to think of what else to say. He licked his lips and opened his mouth. "And I'm sorry for being such a fuck up."

Double D considered Kevin's words before looking back up. "I am still upset over everything, Kevin. It may take a while for me to forget, but at this moment, I rather not think about it."

Kevin nodded. "Man, I don't deserve you."

"Oh, you don't."

The redhead's eyes widened. He knew he didn't, but he wasn't expecting Edd to agree. And Edd could see that and he smiled softly as he cupped Kevin's face.

"But we will get through this," he whispered.

Kevin pressed his forehead against Edd's and returned the smile. His eyes darted down to Edd's lips and he started to lean in, but...

"Shovel chin!" Eddy hollered.

Kevin groaned a little, but didn't show any sign of annoyance as he looked over at Ed and Eddy standing nearby, gaping at him.

"Hey, guys," Kevin greeted them with a wave.

Eddy blinked and he and Ed exchanged looks.

"Do you see him, too, Eddy?" Ed asked.

Double D giggled.

Kevin couldn't help but smirk. "I gotta admit, I missed you guys, too."

* * *

Who was left was of course, Kevin's parents. Kevin was antsy to step into his home again. He wanted to feel that environment again. But he was nervous about confronting his parents. His friends had told him all about how much of a mess they had been, how they went on the news, begging for Kevin to return, and he wasn't sure how they would react to seeing him now. He stood by the front door and hesitated.

Should he knock?

Ring the doorbell?

It was his home, but it hadn't exactly been his home in a while.

After debating it over in his head, he shrugged and just entered, but froze when he saw his parents sitting on the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Barr turned their heads away from the television and gasped to see their son in the doorway.

"Mom..." Kevin spoke, "Dad..."

"My goodness," Mr. Barr breathlessly said as he slowly stood up. "Am I dreaming?"

Mrs. Barr covered her mouth with her hand as she followed her husband, wondering the exact thing. Tears were already flooding her eyes at the sight of the redhead.

"No," Kevin said. "I'm really here."

"Son, you have no idea what you put us through," his father said.

"I can only imagine. I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare _ever _do that to us again," his mother told him, "You understand me?"

Without realizing it, Kevin smiled. He smiled because just hearing that tone in his mother's voice told him that they really did loved and missed him, and that's all he wanted to know. He nodded and allowed himself to be embraced by the both of them at the same time. He felt like a child being squished, but he let the feeling slide and wrapped his arms around them. The sound of his mother crying made his heart ache.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I won't leave again."

"We should have known something was wrong-"

"No, no." Kevin shook his head. "Don't blame yourselves. I shoulda told you guys." He took in a shaky breath as he felt his eyes water.

"Next time you run away," his father said as he stepped away from the hug. He pointed his finger in Kevin's face and squinted his eyes, "you're grounded."

Kevin chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Okay."

* * *

The prison was filled with groaning, angry men arguing with each other through the prison cells. The whole place had a certain, disgusting odor to it that was almost repulsive. The prisoners began shouting when they saw Kevin enter, they started yelling at him. The redhead rolled his eyes as he walked by them until he reached a certain cell. He stood in front of it, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he smirked in satisfaction to see the person sitting inside.

"Hey Jake," he said.

The brunet slowly rose his head to look up at Kevin. "What do _you _want?"

"I honestly just came by to tell you that I think it's kinda funny how in the end, you lost." Kevin shrugged and laughed softly. "You ran me out of time, but... it blew up in your face. How does that make you feel?"

Jake snarled at him and stood up from his bed. He walked up to the iron bars and wrinkled up his nose in disgust as he examined Kevin's face. "Go ahead and laugh now."

"I will." Kevin smiled smugly.

"Uh huh, yeah sure. But when I get out of here, you'll pay."

"Jake, shut the fuck up." Kevin shook his head. "I'm not going to be scared of you anymore. I was stupid for ever being scared of you. I don't think I would have been if I wasn't so drugged up. You're not a threat at all. You're a coward, and I'll never stop laughing at your sad life."

Jake's expression softened. "You're lying. I know you're scared of me."

"Why should I be? You're in there and I'm out here, and by the time you get out, I'll be living a long awesome life while you try to make something of yours, but fail."

Jake groaned and clenched his teeth. "I'll find you," he growled.

"Good luck with that."

"I will!"

Kevin nodded and slowly rose his middle finger. "Man, it's too bad I don't care, but since you seem so confident in yourself... I guess I'll see you later, then." He grinned wider than ever before turning and sauntering his way out of there.

"You better be scared, Kevin!" Jake shouted. "You'll regret this! I swear you will!"

Kevin snickered. "Yeah, whatever."

Outside waited the whole cul-de-sac gang and they clapped when the redhead stepped out of the building.

"Did you tell that low life what he needed to hear?" Jimmy asked.

"I sure did, fluffy." Kevin sighed happily and walked down the cement steps.

"Good," Nazz said. "We're always here for you, Kevin."

"Next time, let Rolf handle your situation for you, yes?" Rolf smiled.

Kevin chuckled and shrugged. "Sure, man. Or you can help me out."

"That could be arranged, too. Perhaps Nana will do some work, too."

"Can she handle it?" Kevin raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Rolf laughed and patted the redhead's back. "Do not underestimate the power of Nana."

"Well alright then!" Kevin smiled at him and looked over at Edd who was standing next to his best friends. He walked up to them and squeezed in between Edd and Eddy, shoving Eddy a bit.

"Hey!" Eddy furrowed his eyebrows and crossed his arms. "You can say 'excuse me'."

"Kevin just wants to be next to Double D," Ed said with a large smile.

Kevin faced Double D and nodded. "I do."

Double D sighed quietly and Kevin grabbed his hands.

"Edd," he said, "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"I don't have my doubts," Double D told him, but he still didn't smile, and that worried Kevin a lot for some reason.

He lifted one of Double D's hands up and kissed the back of it before doing the same to the other. The gesture was so simple, yet so romantic that Edd was not able to contain himself. He finally smiled and leaned in slowly.

"Thank you for not hating me," Kevin whispered against his lips.

"Is it possible to hate you, Kevin?"

"It's possible," Eddy answered.

Kevin glared at the pudgy teen.

Eddy grinned nervously. "Sorry..."

Sarah giggled and left Jimmy's side to stand next to Eddy. "One day, you're going to really get yourself into trouble." She playfully pinched his cheek and Eddy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"Treating you like the baby you are." She batted her eyelashes and rested her head on his shoulder.

Eddy wasn't sure how to even respond to that, but he decided he could be nice and allow her to be affectionate. Though he wanted to know what was up with her, he didn't question it.

Kevin smirked at them before turning his attention back to Double D. "Guess we should wrap this up."

Double D raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Just kiss me."

Double D didn't understand at all, but he honestly didn't care. He had Kevin back and that's all that mattered. So he smiled and closed the small gap between them.

All questions could be asked later.

And they certainly were.

Double D and the others made sure of it.

They couldn't help themselves. They had the need to know all the details Kevin went through during his departure, and he didn't mind explaining it to them. He felt at ease again. And relief ran through him as he realized that he had actually managed to escape menace.

* * *

A/N: Omg, do you see what I did there with the "Guess we should wrap this up"? It's because in the show, they always broke the fourth wall and I just... and yeah, I did the thing with the title. I'm sorry. ;w; I couldn't resist.

Anyways, thank YOU, just thank you thank you thank you SO VERY MUCH FOR READING THIS. Do you even know how much it means to me?

Ugh. I love you all SO much. Thank you!


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